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THE   NEW   YORK   CLEARING  HOUSE. 


j^^YING  OF  THE  CORNER 
ijH  STONE  AND  OPENING 
CEREMONIES  OF  THE 
NEW  BUILDING  OF  THE  NEW 
YORK  CLEARING  HOUSE  IN 
CEDAR  STREET 


NEW  YORK,  1896 


AA 
NN9 


Press  of  J.  J.  Little  &  Co. 
Astor  Place,  New  York 


LAYING  OF  THE  CORNER-STONE 

Tuesday,  October  2d,  1894 


The  New  York  Clearing  House  Association  was  organized 
October  4,  1853,  and  on  October  11,  1853,  the  initial  exchanges 
were  made  in  the  basement  of  No.  14  Wall  Street.  Here,  with 
merely  sufficient  room  to  make  the  exchanges  between  the  fifty-two 
banks,  members  of  the  Association,  the  transactions  were  effected 
until  the  first  of  May  following,  when  slightly  more  commodious 
quarters  were  secured  at  No.  82  Broadway.  Four  years  later  the 
increasing  importance  of  the  institution  necessitated  still  greater 
accommodations,  and  what  were  then  considered  elegant  apart- 
ments were  obtained  in  the  upper  stories  of  the  Bank  of  New  York 
Building,  No.  48  Wall  Street  (May,  1858). 

In  1874,  the  building  on  the  corner  of  Pine  and  Nassau  Streets, 
formerly  occupied,  respectively,  by  the  Bank  of  the  Commonwealth 
and  the  Tenth  National  Bank,  was  purchased  and  entirely  remod- 
elled to  adapt  it  to  the  uses  of  the  Association,  which  took  pos- 
session, June  17,  1875. 

In  1893  it  became  apparent  that  the  Association  would  soon  be 
again  compelled  to  seek  more  extensive  quarters  ;  the  membership 
had  grown  to  sixty-six,  the  clearing  room  was  inadequate  in  size,  and 
the  means  of  light  and  ventilation  in  this  era  of  model  business 
buildings  were  essentially  primitive  and  insufficient. 

The  necessity  of  possessing  vaults  in  which  the  gold  coin  belong- 
ing to  banks,  members  of  the  Association,  might  be  securely  stored 
against  certificates  of  deposit,  which  might  be  used  in  the  settlement 


6 


of  balances,  and  also  for  the  safe  keeping  of  the  collateral  pledged 
with  Clearing  House  Loan  Committees,  when  financial  exigencies 
called  them  into  being,  was  also  a  very  influential  factor  in  the  agita. 
tion  for  the  erection  of  a  structure  equipped  to  meet  the  wants  of 
the  Association,  and  befitting  its  importance  and  dignity  in  external 
appearance  and  interior  decoration  and  appointments. 

The  motion  to  acquire  land  and  erect  such  a  building  was 
unanimously  passed  at  a  meeting  of  the  Association  held  December 
29,  1893,  and,  after  securing  the  premises  77  to  83  Cedar  Street,  a 
building  committee,  consisting  of  Messrs.  Frederick  D.  Tappen, 
President  of  the  Gallatin  National  Bank,  William  A.  Nash,  Presi- 
dent of  the  Corn  Exchange  Bank,  and  J.  Edward  Simmons, 
President  of  the  Fourth  National  Bank,  was  appointed,  and  clothed 
with  all  the  power  necessary  to  enable  it  to  erect  the  new  Clearing 
House. 

After  the  submission  of  designs  and  plans  by  a  number  of  emi- 
nent architects,  Mr.  Robert  W.  Gibson  was  selected  as  the  architect ; 
and  Messrs.  Marc  Eidlitz  &  Son,  as  general  contractors,  began  work 
upon  the  new  structure  about  July  i,  1894. 

By  October  2,  1894,  sufficient  progress  had  been  made  in  con- 
struction to  permit  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone,  and  invitations  to 
the  ceremony  were  sent  to  the  presidents  and  cashiers  of  all  the 
banks  of  the  Association,  to  prominent  bankers  and  brokers,  mem- 
bers of  the  bar,  and  noted  citizens  in  commercial  and  mercantile 
circles. 

Tuesday,  October  2d,  was  a  perfect  day  for  the  occasion,  and 
the  temporary  platform  erected  for  the  convenience  of  the  invited 
guests  was  crowded  with  an  interested  audience  which  witnessed  the 
execution  of  the  following  programme  : 


PROGRAMME  OF  THE  CEREMONIES 


LAYING  OF  THE  CORNER-STONE 

OF  THE 

NEW  YORK  CLEARING  HOUSE 


TUESDAY,  OCTOBER  2d,  1894 

1.  Prayer 

RT.  REV.  H.  C.  POTTER 

Bishop  of  New  York 

2.  Address 

MR.  G.  G.  WILLIAMS 

President  New  York  Clearing  House  Association 

}.    Reading  of  List  of  Articles  to  be  Placed  beneath  the 
Corner-Stone 

MR.  FREDERICK  D.  TAPPEN 


Chairman  Building  Committee 


4.    Laying  of  the  Corner-Stone 

by  president  williams 


Assisted  by  the  Clearing  House  and  Building 
Committees  and  Directors  of  the  Building  Company 


5.  Benediction 

BISHOP  POTTER 


8 


At  noon,  Mr.  G.  G.  Williams,  as  presiding  officer,  called  the 
assemblage  to  order,  after  which  Bishop  Potter  offered  prayer,  invok- 
ing a  blessing  upon  the  work. 

He  recited  certain  collects,  and  read  the  prayer,  "  For  the 
Country,"  in  which  occur  the  following  beautiful  passages  : 

"  Bless  our  land  with  honorable  industry,  sound  learning,  and  pure 
manners.  Defend  our  liberties,  preserve  our  unity.  Save  us  from 
violence,  discord,  and  confusion,  from  pride  and  arrogancy,  and  from 
every  evil  way.  ...  In  time  of  our  prosperity,  temper  our  self- 
confidence,  and  in  the  day  of  our  trouble,  suffer  not  our  trust  in 
Thee  to  fail." 

Mr.  George  G.  Williams,  President  of  the  Chemical  National 
Bank,  President  of  the  Association,  then  read  the  following  address : 

Gentlemen  : 

It  is  appropriate  to  this  occasion  that  brief  reference  be  made  to 
the  homes  of  the  New  York  Clearing  House  Association  during  the 
period  of  its  existence,  and  that  some  incidents  in  its  history  be 
recalled. 

Like  other  useful  institutions,  a  long-felt  want  called  it  into  being. 
The  old  method  of  making  exchanges  at  the  counters  of  the  different 
banks  was  laborious  and  inconvenient,  and  the  settling  of  balances 
at  irregular  and  uncertain  intervals  was  favorable  to  loose  and 
dangerous  practices  in  banking.  With  no  model  at  hand  to  follow, 
the  preliminaries  of  its  formation  were  difficult  and  protracted  ;  a 
constitution,  however,  finally  adopted,  and  desk-room  provided  in 
the  basement  of  an  old  building,  No.  14  Wall  Street  (long  since 
destroyed),  there  was  witnessed  on  the  morning  of  October  11, 
1853,  the  first  meeting,  for  its  proper  business  purposes,  of  the  first 
and  only  clearing  house  then  in  the  United  States.    The  ceiling  of 


9 


the  room  was  low  ;  it  was  lighted  by  gas  and  heated  by  a  stove  ;  for 
a  working  place  for  some  scores  of  men  it  could  not  be  excelled  for 
discomfort,  and  the  contrast  with  the  beautiful  room  we  are  soon  to 
occupy  could  not  be  greater.  Necessity  soon  required  a  removal  to 
more  comfortable  quarters,  and  at  No.  82  Broadway  (  in  a  building 
which  no  longer  exists)  for  four  years,  from  May,  1854,  until  the 
year  1858,  the  Clearing  House  had  its  habitation.  The  building, 
however,  was  not  constructed  for  Clearing  House  purposes  ;  it  was 
incommodious  in  arrangement,  and  it  was  found  desirable  to  find  a 
place  better  adapted  to  our  use.  In  May,  1858,  the  Clearing  House 
was  removed  to  the  upper  floor  of  the  Bank  of  New  York  Building, 
where  quarters  convenient  for  its  occupation  were  fitted  up,  and  there 
it  remained  until  1875.  These  premises  were  in  advance  of  those 
hitherto  occupied,  but,  having  no  elevator,  the  disadvantages  of 
climbing  so  many  stairs  by  so  many  people  were  so  great  that  the 
present  location,  corner  of  Pine  and  Nassau  Streets,  was  selected,  and 
the  property  bought  which  is  now  owned  and  occupied  by  the  Asso- 
ciation. That  building  has  well  served  our  purposes  for  nineteen 
years  ;  but  it  is  not  fireproof  ;  it  is  without  suitable  vaults,  and  in  con- 
sequence of  the  great  number  of  persons  who  are  required  daily  to 
visit  it,  and  the  large  amount  of  money  and  valuables  connected  with 
its  business,  and  having  in  mind  our  future  wants,  it  was  deemed 
imperative  that  the  Clearing  House  Association  should  have  a  home 
commensurate  with  these  requirements.  Lots  were  therefore  bought 
and  a  building  projected,  and  we  have  this  day  assembled  to  lay, 
with  proper  ceremonies,  its  foundation  stone. 

The  work  we  are  doing  is  not  for  ourselves  only,  but  for  gen- 
erations to  come ;  eyes  yet  unborn  will  see  and  admire,  equally  with 
our  own,  the  beautiful  structure  we  are  about  to  rear.  This  section 
of  the  city  is  rapidly  being  covered  by  buildings  w^hich  will  be  but 
young  when  a  hundred  years  have  come  and  gone  ;  we  trust  our  own 
edifice,  equally  with  these  others,  will  have  a  hoary  age. 


lO 


Permanently  located  in  our  new  home,  we  shall  have  a  recorded 
history  of  forty-one  years ;  a  period  of  wonderful  development  and 
progress,  but  in  nothing  greater  than  in  the  establishment  of  clear- 
ing houses  in  almost  every  city  of  consequence  in  this  land,  and  of 
their  increasing  influence  and  importance.  London  had  a  clearing 
house  prior  to  our  own,  and  it  was  suggestive  of  the  formation  of  one 
with  us  ;  but  none  exists  even  to  this  day  in  Paris,  where  the  methods 
of  exchanges  are  clumsy  and  antiquated.  These  institutions  are 
essential,  not  only  as  saving  a  vast  amount  of  labor,  but  more 
especially  as  needed  checks  to  any  irregularities  in  banking.  In  no 
sphere  of  business  is  the  temptation  greater  to  overstep  the  limit  of 
prudence,  and  in  none  is  the  penalty  more  severe  than  in  the  manage- 
ment of  banks.  A  clearinghouse  has  a  watchful  eye  for  the  public 
good  in  preventing  these  transgressions  by  its  members. 

At  our  origin  in  1853  the  number  of  banks  in  the  Association 
was  fifty-one,  with  a  capital  and  surplus  of  $36,164,900,  and  deposits 
of  $39,000,000  (October  8th).  It  is  now  composed  of  sixty-five 
banks,  with  a  capital  and  surplus  of  $132,664,600,  and  deposits  of 
$583,000,000  (September  8th).  The  average  daily  exchanges  for 
the  year  ending  September  30,  1854,  were  $19,100,000;  the  average 
daily  balances  were  $980,000.  The  average  daily  exchanges  for 
the  year  1893  were  $1 19,900,000 ;  the  average  daily  balances  were 
$5,600,000. 

The  purpose  of  our  organization  is  very  simple  and  specific — 
that  of  making  exchanges,  and  the  settlement  of  balances  ;  and  it 
finds  in  its  daily  routine  of  duties  done — like  unobtrusive  Chris- 
tian service — the  object  of  its  existence  fully  attained.  Yet  it  has 
proved  in  times  of  peril  a  rallying-point  and  a  centre  of  influence 
unequalled  in  the  land.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  the  associated 
banks  represented  in  this  Clearing  House  were  the  first  to  take  the 
great  loans  which  maintained  our  armies  in  preserving  the  Union  of 
these  States.    No  soldier  offered  his  life  to  his  country  with  more 


1 1 

devotion  than  did  these  banks  stake  their  existence  upon  that  of  the 
Government  of  the  United  States.  The  first  Union  victory  was 
won,  not  by  armies  in  the  field,  but  by  marshalled  forces  which 
defeated  the  enemies  of  the  public  credit,  then  prostrate  and  well-nigh 
destroyed.    This  triumph  rendered  possible  those  which  followed. 

But  it  has  been  especially  in  seasons  of  panic  that  the  interests 
centred  in  this  Clearing  House  have  been  united  to  serve  the  public 
good.  These  times  of  trial  to  all  bank  officers,  though  they  may 
arise  from  different  causes,  are  all  very  much  alike  in  effects.  These 
are,  diminished  ability  on  the  part  of  banks  to  furnish  needed  facili- 
ties for  business,  resulting  in  the  cessation  of  industries,  the  dis- 
charge of  laborers,  and  general  suffering  in  the  community.  To 
erect  a  barrier  against  these  evils.  Clearing  House  certificates  have 
at  various  times  been  issued,  resulting  in  each  instance  in  diminish- 
ing distrust,  restoring  confidence,  and  relieving  commercial  distress. 
The  circumstances  attending  these  issues  furnish  some  of  the  most 
interesting  chapters  in  our  history.  Brief  reference  only  can  be  made 
to  them  here.  The  first  of  them  was  made  in  the  year  1857,  They 
took  the  form  then  of  certificates  of  the  Metropolitan  Bank,  were 
received  in  settlement  of  balances,  and  were  based  on  the  security 
of  the  circulating  notes  of  the  banks  of  this  State.  They  proved 
of  great  relief  to  those  banks  which  were  in  danger  of  failing,  from 
inability  to  respond  to  demands  for  the  redemption  of  their  notes. 
The  total  issue  was  $7,984,000.  The  next  and  all  subsequent  issues 
of  loan  certificates  were  made  by  loan  committees  of  the  Clearing 
House,  and  were  in  amounts  as  follows  :  In  i860,  $7,375,000  ;  1861, 
$22,585,000;  1863-64,  $29,199,000;  1873,  $26,565,000  ;  1884,  $24,- 
915,000  ;  1890,  $16,645,000;  and  in  1893,  $41,490,000. 

Never  resorted  to  except  in  cases  of  imperious  necessity,  these 
certificates  have  in  each  instance  well  fulfilled  the  purposes  of  their 
issue,  notably  during  the  Civil  War,  in  enabling  the  banks  to  carry  the 
great  war  loans — and  again  during  the  protracted  panic  of  1893, 


12 


when  the  whole  country  from  ocean  to  ocean  was  almost  over- 
whelmed with  financial  disaster.  During  these  trying  times,  the  one 
conspicuous  object  looked  to  for  relief,  aside  from  Congress,  was  the 
New  York  Clearing  House.  It  boldly  and  successfully  fulfilled  its 
mission.  The  history  of  finance  records  no  action  of  greater  conse- 
quence in  averting  calamities  arising  from  panics  than  that  of  this 
Clearing  House  during  the  past  year.  Let  us  hope  that  such  occa- 
sions may  not  soon  arise  again  ;  but,  should  they  do  so,  we  are  sure 
in  any  event  of  wise  and  resolute  action  by  this  body. 

In  laying  this  corner-stone,  we  may  say  that  the  whole  fabric 
of  the  inner  life  of  this  Clearing  House  is  built  on  the  basis  of  the 
best  elements  in  character,  on  the  most  correct  and  conservative 
principles  in  banking,  and  on  the  highest  rules  of  business.  No 
vagaries  of  finance  have  ever  found  favor  in  our  midst.  Excessive 
issues  of  unsecured  paper  money  we  dread,  and  a  dishonest  dollar  we 
abhor.  Sound  money  is  the  very  foundation  of  our  existence,  and 
wise  currency  and  banking  legislation  on  the  part  of  Congress  is  our 
reasonable  request.  We  are  proud  of  the  names  of  those  who 
have  gone  before,  and  who  were  identified  with  the  work  of  this 
Clearing  House,  and  we  pay  this  tribute  of  respect  and  veneration 
to  their  memory.  Their  lives  were  useful  in  the  work  they  have 
done  and  the  heritage  they  have  left  to  us.  While  our  edifice 
lasts  or  our  archives  are  preserved,  their  names  will  not  pass  into 
oblivion. 

The  following  persons  have  served  as  presidents  of  the  institu- 
tion since  its  organization  :  1853  to  1858  inclusive,  Thomas  Tileston  ; 
1859,  Sheppard  Knapp ;  i860  (to  October  9th),  Caleb  O.  Halsted ; 
i860  to  1862,  Thomas  Tileston  ;  1863,  C.  P.  Leverich  ;  1864  to  1870, 
J.  Q.  Jones;  1871  to  1872,  J.  D.  Vermilye ;  1873  to  1874,  C.  F. 
Hunter;  1875  to  1876,  George  S.  Coe ;  1877,  Moses  Taylor;  1878  to 
1879,  William  Dowd;  1880,  Henry  F.  Vail;  1881  to  1882,  Frederick 
D.  Tappen;  1883  to  1884,  Edward  H.  Perkins,  Jr.;  1885  to  1886, 


13 


George  G.  Williams;  1887  to  1888,  Jacob  D.  Vermilye  ;  188910 
1890,  George  S.  Coe  ;  1891  to  1892,  Frederick  D.  Tappcn  ;  1893  to 
the  present  time,  George  G.  Williams, 

The  managers  have  been  as  follows;  1853  to  1863,  George  D. 
Lyman;  1864  to  1892,  William  A.  Camp;  1892  to  date,  William 
Sherer. 


When  the  address  was  concluded,  the  members  of  the  Com- 
mittee, and  others  who  were  participants  in  the  ceremony,  formed 
a  procession  and  proceeded  to  the  Corner-Stone  at  the  southeast 
corner  of  the  building,  and  upon  which  had  been  suitably  carved : 

NEW   YORK    CLEARING  HOUSE 
MDCCCXCIV. 

Arrived  at  the  block  of  Lee  (Massachusetts)  marble,  the  Chair- 
man of  the  Building  Committee,  Mr.  Frederick  D.  Tappen,  Presi- 
dent of  the  Gallatin  National  Bank,  read  the  following  list  of  articles 
which  had  been  placed  in  the  copper  box  to  be  deposited  beneath 
the  corner-stone  : 

1.  Constitution  of  the  New  York  Clearing  House. 

2.  List  of  Officers  and  Committees  of  the  New  York  Clearing 
House  Association,  1894. 

3.  Manager's  report,  1894. 

4.  Proof  Sheet,  October  2,  1894. 

5.  Blanks  used  in  daily  transactions. 


6.  Last  weekly  report  of  the  Associated  Banks. 

7.  Last  quarterly  statement  of  National  and  State  Banks. 

8.  Statement  of  Loans,  Reserves,  and  Liabilities  of  the  Asso- 
ciated Banks  for  the  past  three  years. 

9.  List  of  Banks  and  their  Officers,  members  of  the  Association. 

10.  Report  of  the  Loan  Committee,  1893. 

11.  Set  United  States  coins. 

12.  Programme  of  ceremonies. 

13.  Picture  and  description  of  building. 

14.  Address  of  the  President  on  the  occasion. 

15.  Engraved  plate  of  invitation. 

Mr.  Williams,  assisted  by  the  members  of  the  Clearing  House 
Committee,  the  Building  Committee,  and  the  Directors  of  the  Build- 
ing Company,  then  proceeded  to  lay  the  stone,  using  for  this  purpose 
a  silver  trowel  bearing  this  inscription  : 

"  With  this  trowel  George  G.  Williams,  President  of  the  New 
York  Clearing  House  Association,  laid  the  Corner-Stone  of  the  new 
Clearing  House  building,  Nos.  77-79-81  and  83  Cedar  Street,  New 
York,  Tuesday,  October  2,  1894." 

The  box  having  been  deposited  and  the  mortar  spread  in  a  work- 
manlike manner,  Mr.  Williams  impressively  tapped  the  stone  thrice 
and  said  : 

"  By  the  authority  vested  in  me  as  President  of  the  Clearing 
House  Association,  I  lay  the  corner-stone  of  this  building,  and  I 
hereby  dedicate  the  same  to  the  uses  of  the  Associated  Banks  of 
the  City  of  New  York." 


15 

This  ceremony  concluded,  the  audience  returned  to  the  seats  on 
the  platform  and  listened  to  the  following  address  by  Bishop  Potter  : 

Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  : 

The  words  to  which  already  you  have  listened  are  abundantly 
sufficient  for  this  occasion  ;  and  I  have  certainly  no  smallest  warrant, 
unless  it  is  to  be  found  in  the  kindly  persistence  of  your  Committee 
of  Arrangements,  for  asking  you  to  listen  to  anything  from  me. 
There  is,  however,  at  least  one  element  of  fitness  in  the  congratula- 
tions of  one  who  has  no  official  relation  to  the  Clearing  House, 
and  that  is  to  be  found,  I  think,  in  the  fact  that  he  may  consider 
himself,  as  a  citizen  of  New  York,  as  representing  that  hearty  sym- 
pathy and  admiration  with  which  this  whole  community  regards  the 
history  and  the  services  of  the  institution  whose  corner-stone  we  have 
just  united  in  laying.  Though  the  Clearing  House  may  be  said,  in 
one  sense,  to  have  had  a  foreign  paternity,  since  the  original  idea 
upon  which  it  is  based  occurred,  I  believe,  to  other  minds  than  our 
own,  the  high  degree  of  perfection  to  which  its  operations  have  been 
brought,  and  its  happy  efficacy  in  assisting  to  unite  in  a  common 
purpose  and  policy  the  banks  of  this  great  city,  have  been  distinctly 
ours.  How  much  that  common  purpose  and  policy  have  had  to 
do  in  sustaining  the  financial  credit  and  honor  of  this  great  city,  and 
through  it  of  the  whole  land,  I  need  not  undertake  to  remind  those 
who  know  it  all  so  much  better  than  I.  But  if  there  is  one  fact  in 
its  commercial  history  of  which  New  Yorkers  may  well  be  proud,  it  is 
how,  once,  and  again,  and  again,  in  crises  that  threatened  not  alone 
this  community  but  the  whole  Republic,  the  Banks  of  New  York 
have  stood  shoulder  to  shoulder,  retaining  amidst  hours  of  utmost 
excitement  a  dignified  serenity,  and  acting  in  grave  emergencies 
with  a  wisdom,  courage,  and  large-visioned  unselfishness  which  have 
revealed  to  all  men  everywhere  the  best  elements  of  our  common 
human  nature.    There  are  fields  of  battle,  gentlemen,  on  which  great 


i6 


and  brave  deeds  have  been  won,  amid  the  plaudits  of  the  world  ;  but 
there  are  also  fields  of  finance,  where  a  heroism  no  less  honorable, 
a  calm  fearlessness  no  less  rare  and  difificult,  a  statesmanlike  fore- 
sight no  less  able  and  acute,  have  equally  illustrated  themselves.  No 
victor's  wreath  of  bays  has  been  entwined  for  these,  but,  believe  me, 
gentlemen  of  the  Banks  of  New  York,  your  fellow-citizens  have 
recognized  them  and  will  remember  them. 

This  Institution  stands,  unless  I  am  mistaken,  for  certain  tried 
and  well-proven  methods  and  principles  of  business,  from  v*^hich 
you  do  not  mean  to  depart,  and  it  stands  also  for  that  high  integrity, 
that  scrupulous  fidelity  to  a  contract,  that  mutual  trust  and  honor, 
without  which  human  society  would  soon  relapse  into  barbarism.  May 
they  never  cease  to  prevail  here,  and,  like  this  massive  corner-stone 
which  to-day  we  have  laid  in  its  place,  may  they  long  endure  to 
the  lasting  prosperity  of  the  city  that  we  love,  and  as  an  example  to 
all  mankind. 

After  the  pronouncing  of  the  benediction  by  the  Bishop,  the 
audience  dispersed  and  the  Bank  officers  repaired  to  the  old  build- 
ing in  Pine  Street,  to  attend  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Association 
at  One  o'clock. 

The  following  telegram  was  received  from  Buffalo  : 

"  The  Bankers'  Association  sends  greeting  to  the  New  York 
Clearing  House  Association,  and  congratulates  it  upon  the  founding 
of  its  permanent  home. 

"  William  C.  Cornwell, 

"  President" 


MANAGER'S   AND   ASSISTANT   MANAGER'S  ROOMS. 


OPENING  CEREMONIES 

Wednesday,  January  i^th,  1896 


As  the  building  approached  completion  it  was  decided  to  for- 
mally dedicate  the  structure  to  the  uses  for  which  it  was  designed. 
The  date  was  set  for  Wednesday,  January  15,  at  noon,  and  about 
fourteen  hundred  invitations  were  sent  to  bank  officers  in  this  City, 
Brooklyn,  and  neighboring  cities  in  New  Jersey  ;  the  President  of  the 
United  States  and  members  of  his  Cabinet  ;  the  Governors  of  the 
various  States  ;  the  Comptroller  of  the  Currency  ;  presidents  of 
trust  companies,  railroads  and  insurance  companies ;  distinguished 
members  of  the  bar,  and  clergy,  members  of  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  State  and  City  officials  and  prominent  citizens. 

Seats  to  accommodate  about  a  thousand  people  were  arranged 
in  the  commodious  Clearing  room,  in  which  the  desks  to  be  used  in 
making  the  exchanges  had  not  yet  been  placed.  On  a  platform 
erected  at  the  westerly  end  of  the  room,  the  speakers,  the  Build- 
ing Committee,  the  Directors  of  the  Building  Company,  and  the 
Clearing  House  Committee  were  seated. 

The  following  programme  of  exercises  had  been  arranged : 


PROGRAMME 


1.  Introductory  Announcement 

MR.  WILLIAM  A.  NASH 

President  New  York  Clearing  House  Association 

2.  Invocation 

RT.  REV.  HENRY  C.  POTTER 

Bishop  of  New  York 

3.  Dedication  Hymn 

BANK   CLERKS'   GLEE  CLUB 
Words  and  musical  arrangement  by  Mr.  H.  R.  Humphries,  Conductor 

4.  Statement  of  Building  Committee 

MR.  FREDERICK   D.  TAPPEN 

Chairman  Building  Committee 

5.  Oration  and  Delivery  of  Building 

MR.  J.  EDWARD  SIMMONS 

Of  the  Building  Committee 


6.   Selection  Mendelssohn 

BANK  CLERKS'  GLEE  CLUB 


PROGRAMME 


7.  Address  and  Acceptance  of  Building 

president  william  a.  nash 

8.  Address 

HON.  ALEXANDER  E.  ORR 

President  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce 

9.  Chorus — "  America  " 

GLEE  CLUB  AND  AUDIENCE 

(The  audience  is  requested  to  join  in  singing  the  ist  and  3d  verses.) 

My  Country,  'tis  of  thee,  Let  music  swell  the  breeze 

Sweet  land  of  liberty,  And  ring  from  all  the  trees, 

Of  thee  I  sing  :  Sweet  freedom's  song. 

Land  where  my  fathers  died.  Let  mortal  tongues  awake, 

Land  of  the  Pilgrim's  pride,  Let  all  that  breathe  part.ike, 

From  every  mountain  side  Let  rocks  their  silence  break, — 

Let  freedom  ring  !  The  sound  prolong. 

Our  Fathers'  God,  to  Thee, 
Author  of  liberty, 

To  Thee  we  sing. 
Long  may  our  land  be  bright 
With  freedom's  holy  light, 
Protect  us  with  Thy  might, 

Great  God,  our  King  ! 

10.    Address  and  Benediction 

BISHOP  POTTER 


Collation  in  Board  Room 


22 


At  12  o'clock  President  William  A.  Nash  announced  the  object 
of  the  occasion  in  the  following  terms  : 

Gentlemen  : 

The  New  York  Clearing  House  Association  extends  to  you 
a  hearty  welcome  to  its  new  home.  After  many  wanderings  and 
sojournings,  it  rests  at  last  in  a  permanent  place  ;  in  a  building 
admirably  suited  to  its  wants,  and  one  which  we  believe  to  be  an 
ornament  to  the  City. 

The  exercises  to-day  are  designed  to  properly  celebrate  this 
event.  It  is  altogether  right  on  an  occasion  of  so  much  interest  and 
importance  to  us  all,  that  we  should  invoke  the  Divine  blessing,  and 
prayer  will  now  be  offered  by  the  Bishop  of  New  York. 


Following  the  prayer,  the  dedication  hymn  was  rendered  by 
sixteen  members  of  the  Bank  Clerks'  Glee  Club,  under  the  direction 
of  Mr.  H.  R.  Humphries,  after  which  the  Chairman  of  the  Building 
Committee,  Mr.  Frederick  D.  Tappen,  read  the  following  statement : 

I  have  been  requested  by  the  Building  and  Clearing  House 
Committees  to  state  the  object  of  this  gathering  of  bank  officers  and 
business  men,  which  I  will  do  as  briefly  as  possible.  This  building 
was  designed  especially  for  the  use  of  an  Association  which  has 
always  stood  for  the  soundest  and  best  in  finance,  and  which  has 
many  times  interposed  its  united  powers  at  periods  of  financial  dis- 
turbance, to  prevent  disaster  and  ruin,  not  only  to  the  business  inter- 
ests of  this  great  City,  but  to  those  of  the  State  and  nation.  When 
this  site  was  purchased  and  the  plans  for  the  structure  adopted,  it  was 
thought  eminently  proper  that  the  corner-stone  should  be  laid  with 
appropriate  ceremonies.    On  that  occasion  we  requested  the  assist- 


23 


ance  of  the  Bishop  of  this  diocese,  who  opened  and  closed  the  cere- 
monies with  prayer.  This  building  being  now  completed  and  ready 
for  occupancy,  we  have  again  asked  the  services  of  the  Bishop  on  its 
dedication.  In  concluding  its  labors  the  Committee  congratulates 
the  Association  on  the  possession  of  a  building  which  is  not  only  an 
ornament  to  the  City,  but  a  monument  to  the  public  spirit  of  the 
Associated  Banks  of  New  York. 


Mr.  J.  Edward  Simmons,  President  of  the  Fourth  National 
Bank,  and  a  member  of  the  Building  Committee,  had  been  selected 
to  deliver  the  oration,  which  follows  : 

Mr.  President   and  Gentlemen  of  the  Nezu  York  Clearing  House 
Association  : 

The  task  you  intrusted  to  your  Building  Committee,  two 
years  ago,  is  ended.  The  new  Clearing  House  is  completed.  All 
that  our  architect's  taste  and  skill,  all  that  your  Committee's  zeal, 
aided  by  your  counsels,  could  do,  has  been  done,  not  only  to  adapt 
the  building  to  the  important  purposes  for  which  it  is  designed,  but 
also  to  make  it  worthy  of  the  dignity  and  achievements  of  the  New 
York  Clearing  House  Association.  How  great  these  achievements 
are  I  need  not  tell  you.  They  are  manifest  when  you  call  to  mind 
the  forty-two  years  of  its  history.  More  than  once  has  the  Clearing 
House  Association  proven  to  be  the  breakwater  that  rolled  back  the 
billows  which  threatened  national  disaster.  In  /\merican  finance  it  is 
as  powerful  as  the  Bank  of  England  is  in  European  finance.  It  has  been 
the  bulwark  of  our  commercial  and  national  honesty,  the  rock  on 
which  has  rested  the  strong  edifice  of  American  business  prosperity. 
Its  blessings  have  been  scattered  far  and  wide,  and  its  influence  has 
been  felt  in  every  corner  of  the  land.    No  wonder  it  has  become  the 


24 


great  power  for  good  that  it  has  been  for  many  years,  and  which,  I 
am  proud  to  say,  it  is  to-day.  The  past  of  our  Association  augurs 
for  it  a  grand  and  beneficent  future.  Full  of  hope,  I  look  upon  our 
new  Clearing  House.  Full  of  pride,  I  contemplate  this  noble  pro- 
duction of  the  builder's  art.  It  is  a  fitting  monument  to  the  wise  and 
strong  men  who  have  made  the  New  York  Clearing  House  Associa- 
tion one  of  the  great  financial  stays  of  our  country. 

To  me  the  Building  Committee  has  assigned  the  duty  of  intro- 
ducing to  you  our  new  home.  Nothing  would  give  me  greater 
pleasure  than  to  preface  my  address  by  sounding  the  praises  of  our 
architect.  But  I  shall  leave  it  to  others,  who  may  speak  more  freely, 
to  do  justice  to  the  artistic  excellence  of  this  stately  structure.  To- 
day you  will  permit  me  to  be  the  interpreter  of  the  message  the  new 
Clearing  House  conveys  to  us  all.  There  are  sermons  in  stones, 
the  immortal  bard  tells  us  ;  and  this  beautiful  exchange,  destined,  I 
feel,  to  be  the  scene  of  many  a  triumph,  suggests  to  us  many  a  wise 
and  useful  teaching. 

Let  us  take  our  stand  in  front  of  our  new  building.  Look  at  it, 
as  it  proudly  rises,  resplendent  in  its  dress  of  purest  marble,  borne  on 
its  graceful  Corinthian  pillars  richly  adorned  by  the  sculptor's  art ! 
What  is  the  meaning  of  all  this  outlay?  The  stern  utilitarian  would 
rear  a  cheap,  unadorned  structure  of  Puritan  simplicity.  Why,  then, 
this  costly  marble,  this  expensive  decoration  ?  Is  all  this  the  out- 
come of  paltry  vanity  ?  No,  gentlemen,  it  is  but  the  material  ex- 
pression of  a  generous  public  spirit.  The  desire  to  please  our  fellow- 
citizens,  the  wish  to  add  our  contribution  to  the  beauty  of  the 
metropolis,  have  prompted  us — I  use  Mr.  Ruskin's  words — "to  make 
this  offering  of  precious  things,  because  they  are  precious,  and  not 
because  they  are  useful  or  necessary."  The  spirit  which  called  into 
existence  the  new  Clearing  House  is  the  same  public  spirit  that 
created  the  immortal  masterpiece  of  the  Athenian  Acropolis,  the 
same  public  spirit  that  built  the  wonderful  structures  of  the  Eternal 


25 


City,  the  same  public  spirit  that  brought  forth  the  grand  municipal 
buildings  and  cathedrals  of  mediaeval  Europe.  The  men  who  erected 
these  marvels  of  architectural  art  were  ready  to  sacrifice,  yea  often 
did  sacrifice,  their  treasures  and  their  lives  for  their  country.  On  the 
rich  and  tasteful  fagade  of  the  new  Clearing  House  are  emblazoned 
the  arms  of  our  nation,  our  state,  and  our  city  ;  these  are  meant  to 
be  a  declaration  that  the  bankers  and  the  merchants  of  New  York  are 
ready  at  their  country's  call  to  risk  their  fortunes  for  their  country's 
sake.  This  is  no  idle  boast.  Well  may  the  New  York  Clearing 
House  Association  be  proud  of  its  record  for  wise  and  splendid 
patriotism.  During  the  Civil  War,  was  it  not  our  Association  that 
enabled  the  bankers  of  the  metropolis  to  provide  the  vast  sums 
by  which  the  credit  of  the  national  Government  was  maintained  ? 
And  since  its  formation  has  not  our  Association  been  a  tower  of 
strength  in  the  succession  of  panics  through  which  the  nation 
has  passed  ? 

Again  and  again  has  it  been  demonstrated  that  the  great  battles 
of  the  world  are  not  always  won  by  the  soldier.  There  are  generals 
in  finance  as  well  as  in  war ;  and  the  intrepidity  of  the  one  is 
equal  to  the  heroism  of  the  other.  Who  of  us  can  ever  forget  the 
great  financial  battle  of  1893,  its  brilliant  leadership,  and  the 
glorious  victory  achieved  by  the  Associated  Banks  of  New  York  ? 
The  long-continued  defiance  by  the  Government  of  well-established 
economic  laws  had  filled  men's  minds  with  gloomy  forebodings, 
which  in  that  eventful  year  culminated  in  a  panic  that  swept  into 
insolvency  commercial  corporations,  railroads,  banks,  and  many  of 
the  most  influential  business  firms  of  the  country.  Their  liabilities 
reached  the  stupendous  total  of  nearly  two  billion  dollars.  The 
wealth  of  the  nation  had  not  been  decreased,  but  the  availability 
of  its  resources  had  been  almost  destroyed.  To  uphold  the  value 
of  the  world's  silver  coinage,  the  national  Government  had  pur- 
chased vast  quantities  of  silver  bullion  for  Treasury  notes,  which. 


26 


under  the  terms  of  the  parity  clause  of  the  Sherman  Act,  were 
convertible  into  gold  at  the  option  of  the  holder.  Men's  heads 
grew  dizzy  when  they  reflected  on  the  magnitude  of  this  gigantic 
undertaking.  They  feared  that  gold  would  be  driven  out  of  the 
country,  and  that  all  outstanding  obligations  would  be  discharged 
in  inferior  currency.  By  the  middle  of  June  business  was  paralyzed. 
Gold  flowed  from  the  United  States  Treasury  in  vast  streams. 
Unless  this  terrible  drain  on  the  gold  reserve  could  be  greatly 
reduced,  the  redemption  of  the  Treasury  notes  in  silver  seemed 
inevitable.  Financial  ruin  stared  us  in  the  face.  The  Clearing 
House  Association  boldly  confronted  the  threatening  danger.  At 
a  meeting  called  at  this  crisis  the  situation  and  its  prospects  were 
thoroughly  examined  and  discussed.  The  bank  presidents  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  only  way  in  which  the  banks  could 
maintain  the  volume  of  their  loans  notwithstanding  their  rapidly 
decreasing  deposits,  and  thus  avert  serious  commercial  disaster, 
was  to  extend  their  credits.  A  loan  committee  was  appointed, 
consisting  of  the  presidents  of  five  of  the  principal  banks  of  the 
city,  with  the  President  of  the  Association  as  an  ex-officio  member.* 
This  committee  was  empowered  to  issue  to  the  banks  Clearing 
House  certificates  to  enable  them  to  pay  their  daily  balances  to  the 
Association  without  calling  in  their  loans.     This  action  proved  to 


*  Frederick  D.  Tappen,  Chairman, 

President  Gallatin  National  Bank. 

William  A.  Nash, 

President  Corn  Exchange  Bank. 

Edward  H.  Perkins,  Jr., 

President  Importers^  and  Traders^  National  Bank. 

Henry  W.  Cannon, 

President  Chase  National  Bank. 

J.  Edward  Simmons, 

President  Fourth  National  Bank. 

George  G.  Williams,  Ex- Officio, 

President  Chetnical  National  Bank, 


27 


be  as  wise  as  it  was  needful.  Runs  on  financial  institutions  of  all 
kinds  had  been  growing  more  and  more  frequent ;  appeals  for 
help  were  pouring  in  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  the 
demoralization  of  business  was  well  nigh  universal. 

New  York  was  the  centre  of  the  storm  ;  but  its  banks,  united 
in  interest  and  in  policy,  stood  like  the  rock  of  Gibraltar,  un- 
scathed by  its  fury.  Money,  in  many  cases,  was  not  to  be  had 
at  any  rate  of  interest.  There  was  even  talk  of  closing  the  Stock 
Exchange.  In  fact,  it  would  have  been  closed  but  for  the  resource- 
ful financiers  on  guard  day  and  night.  They  clearly  saw  that 
money  rates  must  be  broken  by  liberal  advances  to  necessitous 
borrowers.  In  no  other  way  could  the  great  corporations  whose 
interest  payments  became  due  on  the  first  of  July  be  saved  from 
calamitous  failure. 

The  Clearing  House  Association,  through  its  Loan  Committee, 
proved  equal  to  the  emergency,  and  on  the  30th  of  June — a 
memorable  day  in  our  history — it  threw,  with  instantaneous  effect, 
eight  million  dollars  upon  the  money  market.  The  interest  rate 
fell  from  eighty  to  ten  per  cent.  The  deadly  pressure  was  relieved, 
and  hope  and  confidence  revived.  The  banks  of  the  metropolis 
continued  to  pour  their  securities  in  to  the  Loan  Committee,  and 
to  pour  their  money  out  to  needy  clients  in  all  parts  of  the  land. 
By  this  action  the  devastating  course  of  the  financial  tornado  was 
checked,  but  its  destructive  fury  was  not  exhausted.  While  the 
repeal  of  the  Silver  Purchase  Law  was  pending,  currency  could  be 
obtained  in  the  open  market  only  at  a  premium  of  from  three  to 
five  per  cent.  Not  infrequently  due  bills  played  the  part  of  note 
issues  and  subsidiary  currency.  Funds  could  not  be  had  by  im- 
porters and  brokers  for  the  purchase  of  exchange  on  Europe. 
Once  more  the  Clearing  House  Association,  through  its  Loan 
Committee,  was  equal  to  the  occasion.  It  made  liberal  advances 
to  dealers  in  foreign  exchange  at  an  interest  rate  that  enabled 


28 


them  to  import  over  thirty  million  dollars  of  gold.  No  sooner 
did  this  golden  tide  reach  our  shores  than  the  premium  on  cur- 
rency began  to  decline.  In  a  short  time  it  wholly  disappeared, 
and  money  again  flowed  in  its  ordinary  channels.  The  banks  began 
to  redeem  their  Clearing  House  certificates  at  the  rate  of  about 
one  million  dollars  per  day  ;  and  on  the  first  day  of  November, 
1893 — the  day  on  which  President  Cleveland  signed  the  bill 
repealing  the  Silver  Purchase  Law — the  last  certificate  was  retired. 
Forty-one  million  four  hundred  and  ninety  thousand  dollars  of  the 
Clearing  House  loan  certificates  had  been  issued.  As  security  for 
their  liquidation  the  Loan  Committee  held  fifty-six  million  dollars 
of  collateral,  seventy-two  per  cent,  in  notes  or  merchants'  bills 
receivable  and  twenty-eight  per  cent,  in  stocks  and  bonds.  Every 
detail  of  these  long  and  exhausting  business  transactions  had  been 
so  critically  scrutinized  that  the  whole  undertaking  was  success- 
fully carried  through  without  the  loss  of  a  single  dollar  to  the 
Association.  What  did  the  Loan  Committee  achieve  by  these 
heroic  measures?  Not  a  Clearing  House  bank  closed  its  doors, 
not  an  important  firm  failed  in  the  City  of  New  York.  The 
commercial  community  had  been  relieved,  the  Government  finan- 
ciers began  to  breathe  more  easily,  the  nation  was  saved  from  a 
deadly  convulsion,  and  prosperity  prepared  to  smile  again  upon 
the  land. 

Such  was  the  patriotic  spirit  that  animated  the  old  Clearing 
House  !  With  such  effect  did  this  Association  step  into  the  breach 
when  our  country  was  threatened  with  the  direst  of  perils  !  The 
beauty  and  the  glory  of  the  new  Clearing  House  are  but  the 
expression  of  the  same  spirit  ;  and  now  that  new  dangers  assail  the 
nation,  let  us  declare  that  our  new  building  stands  for  a  pledge 
that  never  will  the  New  York  Clearing  House  Association  shrink 
from  doing  its  full  duty :  ever  will  it  stand  in  the  front  rank  of 
our  country's  defenders. 


29 


Turning-  our  eyes  again  to  the  facade,  who  is  not  struck  by 
the  cunning  distribution  of  its  members  ?  Parts  project,  parts 
recede,  and  thus  create  a  just  proportion  of  Hght  and  shade.  Has 
not  pur  architect  symbolized  thereby  the  truth  which  every  well- 
ordered  society  has  recognized  and  which  only  mad  men  assail, 
that  where  men  dwell  together  and  work  for  a  common  end,  some 
must  occupy  the  high  and  some  the  low  places  ?  Everywhere 
there  must  be  rulers  and  ruled.  Woe  to  the  communities,  financial 
or  social,  that  ignore  this  essential  truth  !  They  enter  into  conflict 
with  nature,  and  sure  destruction  must  be  their  end.  Among  the 
many  features  that  have  secured  the  success  of  our  Association, 
one  of  the  most  marked  is  the  symmetrical  subordination  of  its 
various  factors.  The  Clearing  House  Committee  is  our  executive 
or  governing  body,  and  nowhere  else  do  the  ruled  more  readily 
recognize  the  authority  of  their  rulers.  But  as  in  the  building  the 
prominent  elements  exist,  not  for  themselves  but  for  the  structure, 
so  in  our  Association  the  members  of  the  Clearing  House  Com- 
mittee always  labor,  not  for  themselves  but  for  the  Association. 
So  long  as  governors,  whether  in  political  or  commercial  life,  act 
up  to  this  rule,  so  long  is  the  organism  full  of  strength  and  energy. 
But  when  corrupt  rulers  sacrifice  the  nation's  welfare  to  their  own, 
when  dishonest  financial  managers  wreck  the  interests  they  are 
bound  in  honor  and  honesty  to  protect,  then  woe  to  governors  and 
governed  alike  !  May  our  beloved  country  be  safeguarded  against 
such  a  fate  !  May  Providence  ever  inspire  the  great  American 
people  to  confound  the  selfish  schemers  that  would  imperil  their 
country's  weal  for  the  sake  of  private  pelf  !  And  if  any  member 
of  our  Association  should  ever  be  tempted  to  be  false  to  his  trust, 
may  a  glance  at  this  noble  building  recall  him  to  a  sense  of 
duty,  and  induce  him  to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  those  great  and 
upright  bankers  who  have  safely  led  us  through  the  perils  of  the 
past. 


30 


But  the  play  of  sunlight  and  shadow  on  the  front  of  this 
stately  edifice  is  not  always  the  same.  As  the  sun  ascends  to  the 
zenith  the  Clearing  House  grows  radiant  with  light,  but  as  it 
descends  to  the  horizon  its  shadows  deepen.  They  warn  us  that 
our  Association  must  always  be  ready  for  darkness  and  storm  ; 
that  if  there  are  periods  of  sunshine  and  prosperity,  there  are  also 
periods  of  panic  and  distress.  He  is  not  a  man  whose  heart  faints 
when  perils  surround  him.  The  leaders  of  the  old  Clearing  House 
have  shown  those  who  will  rule  in  the  new  how  to  face  dangers 
and  difficulties.  By  their  prudence,  by  their  courage,  by  their 
strength,  and  by  their  honor  they  have  for  nearly  half  a  century 
safeguarded  the  prosperity  of  this  Association.  Let  their  successors 
imitate  their  virtues  ;  and  though  at  times  sombre  shadows  may 
creep  over  our  Clearing  House,  its  sun  will  continue  to  shine  and 
drive  away  the  clouds  of  financial  fanaticism  and  dishonesty. 

Let  us  now  enter  and  examine  the  interior  of  our  new 
home.  Mark  how  wisely  and  fittingly  the  space  is  distributed. 
Observe  how  admirably  each  room  is  adapted  to  its  purpose. 
Convenience  is  the  characteristic  of  the  rooms  destined  for  the 
workers ;  while  the  more  retired  apartments  are  assigned  to  the 
committees  and  to  the  watchful  managers.  In  this  architectural 
adaptation  of  means  to  ends  we  see  reflected  everywhere  the 
marvellous  method  of  clearing  exchanges,  of  which  we  are  so  justly 
proud.  Contrast  the  present  method  with  that  formerly  prevailing 
in  this  city.  Every  day  porters  and  clerks  adjusted  and  paid  the 
balances  due  to  and  by  the  several  banks  at  the  desks  of  each. 
Tons  of  gold  and  valuables,  protected  by  guards,  were  carried 
through  the  streets  at  imminent  peril  of  robbery  or  loss  :  settle- 
ments depended  on  memory,  and  numberless  vexations  compelled 
weekly  instead  of  daily  clearings.  Now  in  about  ten  minutes  over 
four  thousand  packages  of  checks,  drafts,  bills,  and  other  com- 
mercial  instruments,  belonging  to   the  sixty-six  banks  that  are 


CLEARING  ROOM. 
(Lookin^r  from  Manat;irr's  Callcrv.) 


31 

members  of  the  Clearing  House,  are  distributed  and  receipted  for 
without  loss  or  error.  The  numerous  balances  of  each  bank  are 
quickly  condensed  into  one,  and  that  balance,  whether  a  debit  or 
a  credit,  is  liquidated  on  the  same  day.  The  whole  process  is  one 
of  clockwork  precision,  and  is  almost  unerring  in  its  results.  By 
all  who  understand  the  sureness  and  simplicity  of  our  clearing- 
house methods,  and  their  inestimable  services  to  financiers  in  city 
and  country,  the  names  of  Lyman,  Camp,  and  Sherer  will  ever  be 
held  in  appreciative  remembrance.  Into  these  methods  they  infused 
new  life  and  light  ;  and  in  laying  the  foundation  of  our  triumphs 
they  had  a  preeminent  share. 

As  we  stroll  through  the  spacious  apartments  of  this  beautiful 
building  we  are  impressed  with  the  careful  provision  made  for 
lighting  it.  It  is  pervaded  by  light.  Light  streams  in  through 
the  dome  and  floods  the  offices  through  the  windows  ;  there  is 
light  from  above  and  light  from  the  sides  ;  light  from  the  front 
and  light  from  the  rear  ;  and  should  the  great  orb  of  day  fail  to 
supply  the  light  we  need,  modern  science,  which  has  chained  the 
lightning,  flashes  into  the  building  new  waves  of  light  to  make  up 
the  deficiency.  Is  not  this  as  it  should  be?  The  operations  on 
which  the  sun  here  sheds  his  radiance  are  of  supreme  importance 
to  society,  and  the  welfare  and  progress  of  society  demand  that 
man's  brightest  intelligence  should  illuminate  the  banker's  work 
with  its  most  searching  rays.  Already  the  great  bankers  of  this 
and  other  countries  have  rent  the  veil  which  has  so  long  covered 
some  of  the  most  important  laws  controlling  the  economic  world. 
The  daily  experience  of  the  New  York  Clearing  House  has 
furnished,  and  will  continue  to  furnish,  many  a  solid  stone 
needed  in  completing  the  majestic  structure  of  economic  science. 
Permit  me  to  tax  your  patience  for  a  few  moments  while  I  draw 
your  attention  to  one  or  two  ways  in  which  the  Clearing  House 
throws  light  on  the  working  of  the  laws  of  business  and  finance. 


32 


Like  most  natural  forces,  business  moves  in  waves.  Sometimes 
everything  prospers  and  we  are  on  the  crest  of  the  wave  ;  again, 
there  is  a  revulsion,  prices  sink,  business  is  paralyzed,  and  we  are 
in  the  trough  of  the  sea.  What  is  more  important  than  to  have 
the  means  to  indicate  and  measure  these  movements — a  business 
barometer,  let  us  call  it  ?  Such  a  barometer  the  clearing-house 
system  furnishes.  The  clearings  of  the  eighty-one  exchanges  of 
the  United  States  approximately  measure  the  ebb  and  flow  of 
business  throughout  the  country. 

But  this  is  not  all.  The  books  of  the  New  York  Clearing 
House  Association  enable  us  to  ascertain  at  any  moment  the 
standing  of  every  bank  belonging  to  the  Association  and  the 
character  of  its  management.  Our  daily  proof-sheet  supplies  each 
bank  with  an  authentic  exhibit  of  the  Clearing  House  dealings  of 
all  its  associates,  and,  like  a  financial  sun,  it  reveals  the  extent  and, 
in  a  degree,  the  character  of  their  transactions.  Imparting  knowl- 
edge, the  Clearing  House  records  naturally  beget  decision  and 
promptness  in  the  conduct  of  business.  They  protect  us  against 
the  perils  of  excessive  loans  and  discounts  ;  they  are  pointers  of 
the  drift,  as  well  as  of  the  character,  of  business ;  they  serve  as 
prophets  foretelling  the  course  of  financial  storms  ;  they  are  trust- 
worthy guides  to  the  wise  investor.  It  is  scarcely  possible  to 
exaggerate  the  advantages  the  American  business  man  may  derive 
from  the  light  shed  by  our  Clearing  House  records  on  the  nature 
and  the  prospects  of  mercantile  movements,  not  only  in  New  York 
but  throughout  the  country. 

Much  more  valuable  is  the  light  they  shed  on  some  of  the 
important  financial  questions  now  agitating  the  nation.  Who  has 
not  heard  again  and  again  the  frenzied  utterances  of  financial 
quacks  who  maintain  that  on  the  abundance  of  the  currency  alone 
depends  the  weal  or  woe  of  the  people  ;  that  the  plentiful  issue  of 
currency,  whatever  its  intrinsic  value  or  lack  of  value,  is  a  panacea 


33 


for  all  the  world's  financial  ills  ?  In  connection  with  the  currency, 
let  us  consider  briefly  the  business  of  the  New  York  Clearing 
House  during  the  forty-two  years  of  its  existence.  The  total 
transactions  from  October,  1853,  to  October,  1895,  amount  in  all 
to  the  sum  of  $1,092,815,818,055 — a  sum  sufficient,  if  coined  into 
half-eagles,  laid  flat  so  as  to  touch  each  other,  to  make  a  golden 
pathway  ten  feet  wide  around  the  world.  The  balances  were  a 
little  more  than  four  and  one-half  per  cent,  of  the  clearings,  and 
even  these  balances  were  discharged,  not  in  currency,  but  principally 
by  certificates  on  a  common  depository.  Take,  for  instance,  the 
balances  for  the  year  1883.  One-half  of  one  per  cent,  of  these 
balances,  or  less  than  one-fiftieth  of  one  per  cent,  of  the  entire 
clearings,  was  paid  in  legal-tenders  and  coin.  Not  long  ago,  when 
the  exchanges  averaged  $113,019,011  daily,  the  checks  and  drafts 
presented  by  the  several  banks  so  nearly  offset  each  other  that  of 
every  one  hundred  dollars  of  the  balances  all  but  four  dollars  and 
seventy-eight  cents  were  paid  in  checks.  What  do  these  figures 
proclaim  ?  They  tell  us  how  insignificant  a  role  currency — I  care 
not  whether  it  be  gold,  silver,  or  legal-tender  notes — plays  in  the 
great  mass  of  business  represented  by  our  clearings.  Under  the 
clearing-house  system  legalized  paper  representing  the  commodities 
for  which  it  was  given  circulates  as  freely  and  almost  as  safely  as 
gold  and  silver  coin,  and  far  more  conveniently.  Is  it  not,  there- 
fore, true  that  the  products  of  the  country  have,  to  a  large  extent, 
become  our  currency  ?  Let  me  assure  my  countrymen,  north  and 
south,  east  and  west,  that  their  marketable  commodities  are  the 
best  of  currency.  Only  let  them  produce  enough  of  these,  and 
they  need  never  dread  the  spectre  of  poverty. 

Owing  to  the  progress  made  by  our  system  of  clearings, 
I  can  truly  say  that  in  no  country  is  a  business  so  immense 
transacted  with  an  amount  of  the  precious  metals  so  surprisingly 
small.    At  least  ninety  per  cent,  of  all  the  business  of  this  country 


34 


is  a  credit  business  done  by  checks,  drafts,  bills  of  exchange,  and 
other  commercial  instruments.  Every  step  in  advance  made  in 
our  system  of  exchanges  reduces  the  importance  of  currency. 
Already  our  progress  has  given  to  one  dollar  the  power  to  do 
the  work  done  by  a  hundred  dollars  at  the  beginning  of  the 
century.  The  currency  of  a  country  need  not  equal  its  wealth 
nor  the  volume  of  its  mercantile  transactions.  The  figures  denot- 
ing the  exchanges  of  the  American  clearing  houses  amounted  in 
1888  to  over  fifty  billion  dollars — thirty  times  all  the  gold  and 
silver  and  all  the  bank-notes  then  in  the  country.  Therefore, 
not  alone  on  the  abundance  of  the  currency — I  venture  to  say  not 
chiefly  on  the  abundance  of  the  currency — depends  our  country's 
business  prosperity.  No  legislation  and  no  financial  juggling  can 
make  a  country  prosperous ;  only  industry,  economy,  thrift,  and 
self-denial  can  effect  this  result.  Abundance  of  currency,  provided 
it  be  a  sound  currency,  may  be  one  of  the  factors  of  prosperity. 
But  abundant  means  of  communication,  the  annihilation  of  time 
and  space  by  steamboats,  railroads,  telegraphs,  and  last,  though 
not  least,  improved  clearing-house  methods,  these  also  are  important 
elements.  Give  us  these,  and  let  God  smile  on  our  fields,  scattering 
blessings  from  his  bounteous  hand,  and  happiness  will  dwell  in  the 
abode  of  the  farmer  and  the  mechanic  no  less  than  in  the  home 
of  the  banker  and  the  merchant. 

But  it  is  time  to  resume  our  inspection  of  the  new  Clearing 
House.  Scan  it  with  the  critic's  eye.  Examine  it  from  without 
or  from  within  ;  in  detail  or  as  a  whole.  Search  it  with  the  aid  of 
God's  sunlight  or  man's  electric  flashes.  It  is  the  ideal  of  honesty. 
Honest  in  its  material,  from  the  pure  marble  of  the  facade  to  the 
strong  oak  and  mahogany  of  its  inside  fittings  ;  honest  in  its 
decoration,  from  the  proud  and  graceful  Corinthian  columns  and 
the  richly  carved  arms  of  our  nation,  our  State,  and  our  city,  to  the 
deftly  worked  scrolls  of  the  interior  ;  honest  in  all  its  architectural 


35 


features,  that  suggest  no  promise  that  is  not  fulfilled.  Is  not  this 
as  it  should  be  ?  Has  it  not  ever  been  the  motto  of  this  Associa- 
tion that  honesty  is  the  best  policy  ?  Has  it  not  gone  beyond 
Franklin's  aphorism,  and  stood  for  honesty  and  justice  even  if  the 
heavens  fall  ?  No  man  can  point  to  any  act  of  this  body  that 
has  condoned  the  plausible  untruth,  the  amiable  fallacy,  the  provi- 
dent evasion,  the  merciful  concealment,  or  the  positive  and  careless 
lie.  In  all  financial  measures  the  Clearing  House  Association 
has  invariably  insisted  upon  giving  to  all  men  that  which  is  their 
due.  It  has  always  believed  in  paying  dollar  for  dollar,  one 
hundred  cents  for  one  hundred  cents.  It  can  see  neither  justice 
nor  truth,  neither  honor  nor  profit,  in  taking  a  piece  of  silver 
worth  fifty  cents  and  stamping  it  with  the  legend,  "  One  hundred 
cents."  We  know  that  the  safest  of  all  currency  is  gold.  It  is 
the  standard  of  value  throughout  the  civilized  world.  Everywhere 
it  is  a  commodity  in  demand,  and  everywhere  exchangeable  for 
other  commodities.  It  is  less  subject  to  fluctuations  than  other 
forms  of  money,  and  therefore  promises  to  the  wage-earner  greater 
uniformity  and  safety  in  the  payment  of  his  labor,  and  to  the 
business  man  greater  exemption  from  violent  and  dangerous  com- 
mercial convulsions.  Surely  these  are  strong  reasons  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  gold  standard.  But  above  them  all  in  im- 
portance is  the  broad  fact  that  honesty  demands  its  retention. 
Throughout  the  history  of  this  Clearing  House,  its  record  for 
good  faith  imperatively  makes  us  the  advocates  of  honest  money 
for  the  nation.  Such  has  been  our  record  in  the  old  building. 
Such  will  be  our  policy  in  the  new  Clearing  House,  every  stone  of 
w^hich  bears  on  it  the  impress  of  honesty. 

Descending  to  the  lower  parts  of  the  building,  let  me  call 
your  attention  to  the  massive  foundations,  the  sturdy  double  walls, 
the  great  steel  vaults,  the  steel  grilles,  the  hundred  and  one  safe- 
guards, open  and  concealed,  that  protect  the  building  against  the 


36 


assaults  of  man's  violence  and  the  encroachments  of  time.  Mark 
the  devices  for  turning  the  steam  which  supplies  us  with  heat, 
and  even  the  electricity,  which  ordinarily  gives  us  light,  into  means 
of  defence.  Everything  has  been  done  that  the  builder's  art  can 
do  to  make  the  new  Clearing  House  safe  against  the  robber,  the 
thief,  and  the  anarchist. 

Are  not  these  appliances  typical  of  the  many  skilful  devices 
invented  by  the  accountant  to  guard  us  against  error  and  dishonesty, 
devices  so  perfect  that  in  all  its  history  I  can  proudly  assert  that 
the  New  York  Clearing  House  Association  has  never  suffered  the 
loss  of  a  single  cent  ?  Are  they  not  symbolic  of  the  wisdom  that 
is  slowly  but  surely  working  out  a  system  of  political  economics 
which  will  prevent,  as  far  as  human  wisdom  can  prevent,  the 
insanities  of  visionary  enterprises,  the  unhealthy  inflation  of  prices, 
and  the  ruinous  disasters  of  panics  ?  Yes,  these  solid  walls  sym- 
bolize the  solid  walls  of  American  common  sense,  that  heretofore 
have  guarded  our  beloved  country  against  fantastic  and  destructive 
financial  schemes,  and  will  do  so  forevermore. 

But  the  strength  and  the  solidity  of  this  majestic  building 
suggest  not  only  the  strength  and  the  solidity  of  the  Clearing 
House  Association,  but  they  also  typify  its  unselfish  care  for  those 
that  are  to  come  after  us.  This  unique  and  beautiful  structure, 
whose  every  part  bids  defiance  to  the  ravages  of  time,  is  not  built 
for  ourselves  alone.  The  true  American,  the  true  patriot,  is  ever 
mindful  of  posterity  ;  his  plans  always  include  the  generations 
unborn.  The  greatest  glory  of  any  building,  says  Mr.  Ruskin, 
is  not  in  its  cunningly  wrought  marble,  iron,  or  gold,  but  "in  that 
deep  sense  of  voicefulness,  of  stern  watching,  of  mysterious  sym- 
pathy, nay  even  of  approval  or  condemnation,  which  we  feel  in 
walls  that  have  long  been  washed  by  the  passing  waves  of  human- 
ity." These  attributes,  of  course,  we  cannot  ascribe  to  a  building 
whose  history  is  all  in  the  future ;  but  what  we  feel,  and  truly  feel, 


37 


as  we  contemplate  these  powerful  walls,  is  the  sympathy,  the  watch- 
fulness, and  the  protection  they  promise  to  the  generations  to  come. 

Our  Association  and  our  metropolis  have  always  had  a  feeling 
heart  and  an  open  hand  for  others.  We  rejoice  with  our  sister 
States  and  cities  over  their  financial  strength  and  commercial 
development.  We  are  proud  of  the  majesty  and  power  of  our  own 
beloved  country,  and  we  love  to  see  the  nations  of  the  world 
prosper  and  grow  in  civilization.  Never  have  those  who  have 
been  stricken  by  disaster  appealed  in  vain  to  the  bankers  and 
merchants  of  New  York.  Unselfishly,  unstintingly,  they  have  given 
to  others  of  that  which  God  had  given  to  them.  Without  boast, 
without  ostentation,  they  have  practised  that  mercy  which  "drop- 
peth  as  the  gentle  rain  from  heaven."  Of  this  unselfishness,  of  this 
mercy,  these  walls,  built  not  so  much  for  ourselves  as  for  others, 
are  the  emblem.  So  long  as  they  stand,  so  long  as  they  harbor  the 
great  financiers  of  New  York,  they  will  tell  us  that  the  Clearing 
House  Association  has  open  eyes  for  the  claims  of  the  poor  and 
the  unfortunate.  Never  will  it  sanction  any  measure,  political  or 
financial,  that  encroaches  upon  the  rights  of  the  weak  and  the 
defenceless.  Never  will  it  seek  its  own  advantage  at  the  cost 
of  the  helpless.  As  long  as  this  edifice  stands  here,  so  long  will 
the  bankers  of  this  metropolis — our  children  and  our  children's 
children — practise  the  noble  virtues  of  generosity  and  charity. 

The  New  York  Clearing  House  Association  serves  not  the 
American  people  alone,  but  it  extends  its  benefits  to  the  whole 
family  of  nations,  and  the  world  is  better  for  its  genial  activities. 
It  symbolizes  the  fact  that  it  is  the  duty  and  privilege  of  all  nations 
to  seek  peace  with  righteousness,  prosperity  through  equity,  and 
the  realization  of  the  highest  possibilities  of  humanity  through 
obedience  to  that  supreme  law  which  has  its  seat  in  the  bosom 
of  God  and  whose  voice — speaking  in  nature,  reason,  and  society — 
is  the  harmony  of  the  world. 


38 


And  now,  Messrs.  Presidents  and  Gentlemen,  the  time  has 
come  to  bring  this  address  to  a  close,  much  though  our  new  home 
has  still  to  tell  us.  Into  your  hands,  Mr.  President,  I  deliver  the 
keys  which  will  open  this  stately  building  for  business.  May  it  long 
be  the  efficient  shelter  of  the  Clearing  House  Association.  May 
it  ever  be  the  home  of  wisdom  and  energy.  May  it  ever  be 
the  bulwark  of  honesty  and  honor.  May  it  always  remain  what 
we  see  it  to-day — a  monument  to  the  virtues  of  those  who  have 
gone  before  us.  And  as  the  great  Trojan  chief  in  the  Greek  epic 
prays  to  Zeus  that  his  son  may  be  a  better  man  than  himself,  so 
in  concluding  I  express  the  hope  that  to  the  new  Clearing  House 
there  may  be  granted  a  more  prosperous,  a  more  influential,  and 
a  more  beneficent  career  than  has  even  fallen  to  the  lot  of  the 
old  one. 

Mendelssohn's  "  The  Wayfarers  "  was  given  by  the  Glee  Club, 
after  which  the  President,  William  A.  Nash,  accepted  the  building 
on  behalf  of  the  Association,  in  an  address  as  follows : 

Gentlefuen  : 

In  accepting,  on  behalf  of  the  Clearing  House  Association, 
this  magnificent  building,  dedicated  to  its  uses  and  purposes,  it  is 
unnecessary  to  praise  the  work  or  the  men  under  whose  supervision 
it  has  been  created.  Their  encomium  surrounds  us,  and  is  as 
eloquent  as  it  is  beautiful.  We  have  here  a  home  suitable  to  our 
needs  for  at  least  a  century  to  come.  The  capacity  of  a  Clearing 
House  is  not  tested  by  the  volume  of  business  which  it  transacts 
but  by  the  number  of  those  who  assemble  to  do  the  work.  The 
Clearing  room  in  which  we  are  now  assembled  is  sufficiently 
large  to  allow  the  representatives  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
banks  to  meet  for  daily  business. 


39 


When  this  Association  was  formed  in  1853,  the  membership 
consisted  of  fifty-one  banks.  All  the  banks  existing  at  that  time 
in  the  city  became  members.  To-day  our  number  is  sixty-six, 
showing  a  net  gain  of  fifteen  members  in  forty-two  years. 

The  standard  of  admission  to  membership  has  steadily  risen 
with  every  year  of  our  existence.  The  requirements  as  to  capital 
and  character  of  those  who  now  may  knock  for  entrance  are  such 
that  only  the  really  excellent  are  prepared  to  meet  and  pass  the 
scrutiny. 

The  severity  of  inspection  is  not  for  the  purpose  of  suppress- 
ing or  discouraging  new  institutions,  but  to  foster  stronger  and 
better  ones.  We  open  our  doors  freely,  but  only  the  highest 
grade  are  admitted  to  the  close  and  trusting  relations  which  prevail 
in  this  body  ;  hence  the  assertion  that  this  beautiful  building,  with 
its  splendid  appointments,  will  be  sufficient  for  our  uses  for  at 
least  a  century  is  probably  not  far  from  the  truth. 

It  is  altogether  proper  that  this  high  standard  of  membership 
should  be  maintained.  The  successful  administration  of  a  Clearing 
House  depends  on  mutual  confidence  and  trust.  We  are  partners 
in  the  largest  acceptation  of  the  term.  We  have  here  assumed 
liabilities  and  carried  out  projects  involving  tremendous  responsi- 
bilities to  each  and  every  bank,  and  we  have  done  this  successfully, 
because  the  elements  of  faith  and  credit  have  been  the  controlling 
influences  of  our  acts. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  mechanical  work  of  making  exchanges 
and  settling  the  resultant  balances  is  really  the  legitimate  business 
of  this  Association.  Its  actions  in  other  directions,  in  the  opinion 
of  some  who  are  technically  inclined,  have  been  irregular  ;  but 
those  actions  of  this  Association  for  which  no  warrant  exists  in 
its  written  laws  constitute  its  claim  to  the  high  public  considera- 
tion which  it  receives,  and  which  it  is  entitled  to  receive.  I  refer, 
of  course,  to  its  action  in  times  of  crisis  in  financial  affairs.  The 


40 


issuing  of  Clearing  House  certificates  at  such  times  is  now  regarded 
as  a  wise  policy,  and  as  providing  a  remedy  and  help  perfectly 
adapted  to  monetary  panics,  and  it  has  been  administered  by  the 
Association  with  a  courage  and  conservatism  that  constitute,  in 
my  opinion,  the  crowning  glory  of  this  organization. 

This  could  not  have  been  accomplished  without  the  utmost 
harmony  and  confidence  between  the  members.  They  have  met 
these  emergencies  in  the  past  in  a  spirit  of  unanimity  ;  they  have 
relied  trustfully  on  their  chosen  leaders,  and  they  have  contemplated 
at  times  the  most  disastrous  prospects  with  courage  and  firmness. 
The  history  of  these  triumphs  has  been  recited  often  and  ably. 
It  is  my  intention  only  to  allude  to  them.  It  would  be  idle  for 
me  to  pursue  the  lines  of  thought  so  admirably  followed  by  the 
able  speaker  who  has  delivered  this  building  into  our  hands.  It 
would  be  equally  presumptuous  if  I  should  repeat  the  careful  and 
eloquent  resume  of  our  career  given  by  President  Williams  at  the 
time  the  corner-stone  was  laid.  The  record  of  the  New  York 
Clearing  House  and  the  spirit  that  made  that  record  possible  are 
"  known  and  read  of  all  men,"  It  is  clear,  unimpeachable,  and 
honorable. 

In  speaking  the  words  of  dedication  and  welcome  assigned 
to  me  on  this  occasion,  I  think  it  is  a  fitting  opportunity  to  call 
the  attention  of  bank  officers  especially,  and  of  the  general  public, 
to  the  salient  features  of  our  organization. 

Whether  the  question  of  representation  in  this  body  was 
much  considered  by  its  founders  I  do  not  know,  but  it  seems  they 
could  not  have  hit  upon  a  wiser  device  than  our  existing  regula- 
tions to  insure  strength  and  harmony  of  action.  The  basis  of 
franchise  with  us  is  individual  and  not  corporate.  The  bank  with 
the  smallest  capital  and  the  lowest  line  of  deposits  has,  through 
its  representative  officer,  as  potential  a  voice  in  our  affairs  as  the 
most  colossal  of  our  members.    The  selection  of  our  officers  and 


41 


the  members  of  our  committees  has  not  followed  the  plan  of  giving 
the  largest  banks  the  greatest  share,  but  we  have  preferred  the 
talents  and  availability  of  special  men.  Whenever  we  have  found 
bank  officers  fitted  for  the  work  of  supervision  and  direction,  we 
have  not  hesitated  to  elect  them  over  and  over  again.  Thus  it 
has  happened  that  our  most  prominent  men  have  not  always 
represented  our  largest  banks. 

In  like  manner,  this  Association  has  from  time  to  time  thrown 
itself  to  the  relief  of  a  troubled  and  distressed  member,  and  has 
made  that  member's  difficulties  the  object  of  all  its  solicitude  and 
assistance. 

When  Clearing  House  certificates  have  been  issued,  there 
have  been  no  nice  discriminations  in  their  distribution.  The  need 
of  the  applicant  has  been  the  only  measure  that  has  been  applied 
to  the  supply.  No  member  has  ever  hesitated  to  ask  for  all  it 
wanted,  and  no  committee  has  ever  held  back  its  hand  for  careful 
examination  of  the  deserts  of  those  who  have  applied.  There  has 
been  a  conspicuous  freedom  from  that  weighing  and  measuring 
of  interests  that  enter  into  the  conduct  of  so  many  corporations. 
Whether  this  result  was  foreseen  by  the  men  who  took  the  first 
steps  in  this  work,  as  I  have  said,  I  do  not  know.  I  believe  they 
builded  better  than  they  knew.  The  strength  of  our  Association 
may  be  attributed  to  this  disregard  of  those  interests  which  are 
usually  considered  of  so  much  importance.  To  this  policy  may 
be  traced  the  splendid  results  that  have  been  achieved.  The 
controlling  idea  among  us  has  been  that  capital  and  financial 
strength  were  to  be  used  for  the  good  of  all,  and  to  help,  not  to 
discourage,  small  or  struggling  institutions.  Hence  has  arisen  that 
wonderful  unanimity  in  times  of  danger,  that  trust  in  our  managers, 
and  that  courageous  confidence  in  the  outcome  of  their  labors. 

When  this  occasion  is  used  as  a  time  to  appeal  to  the  members 
of  the  present  Association  not  to  lightly  disregard  the  spirit  that 


42 


has  been  regnant  in  the  past,  and  to  urge  them  to  contend  against 
those  suggestions  of  prorating  of  interests  which  every  now  and 
then  are .  heard,  I  think  it  is  being  put  to  its  best  uses.  The 
legacy  of  the  past  is  too  valuable  to  be  frittered  away  in  paltry 
considerations  of  what  is  mine  and  what  is  thine.  I  appeal  to  all 
the  bank  ofificers  now  representatives  in  our  body  to  highly  resolve 
that  the  ruling  altruistic  spirit  of  our  history  shall  be  nurtured  and 
cherished.  In  its  maintenance  lies  our  future  success — in  its  neglect 
we  can  easily  see  our  degeneracy. 

To  this  we  are  helped  by  recalling  the  men  who  have  figured 
in  and  made  that  history.  I  love  to  rehearse  the  names  of  those 
who  have  made  our  annals  illustrious.  Their  courageous  advice 
overawed  the  suggestions  of  timidity,  and  pointed  us  unerringly 
to  a  road  possibly  thorny  but  certainly  victorious.  In  hours  of 
reminiscence,  the  decisive  actions  of  these  men  are  told  with  a  glow 
of  admiration. 

We  recall  the  names  of  Thomas  Tileston,  of  the  Phenix  Bank, 
the  first  President  of  the  Association  ;  Moses  Taylor,  of  the  City 
Bank ;  Augustus  E.  Silliman  and  Jacob  D.  Vermilye,  of  the 
Merchants'  Bank  ;  John  Q.  Jones,  of  the  Chemical  Bank  ;  James 
Gallatin,  of  the  National  Bank  ;  John  A.  Stevens,  of  the  Bank  of 
Commerce  ;  James  Punnett,  of  the  Bank  of  America  ;  Charles  F. 
Hunter,  of  the  People's  Bank  ;  and  James  M,  Morrison,  of  the 
Manhattan  Company. 

These  men  represented  large  interests,  but  they  themselves 
were  more  and  larger  than  those  interests.  They  have  passed 
away,  but  they  have  left  worthy  successors.  Among  the  living 
examples  whom  we  delight  to  honor  on  this  day,  surely  I  shall  not 
be  thought  invidious  if  I  name  George  S.  Coe,  of  the  American 
Exchange  National  Bank. 

We  have  been  singularly  fortunate  in  the  men  who  from  time 
to  time  have  presided  over  our  Association  and  have  been  active 


NEW   YORK   CLEARING    HOUSE,  1858-1875. 
(Upper  llo.ir.  I?ank  ol  Xmv  York  HuiUlini;,  48  Wall  Strcol. 


43 


in  our  committees.  They  constitute  a  cluster  of  brave,  inspiring, 
and  unselfish  bankers,  of  whom  this  Clearing  House  is,  and  of  which 
any  financial  organization  might  well  be,  proud. 

And  if  to-day  we,  under  this  spacious  dome  and  amid  all  this 
wealth  of  architectural  ornament  and  device,  shall  seriously  con- 
sider the  legacy  of  the  past,  and  the  noble  lineage  that  is  ours, 
and  shall  resolve  to  preserve  all  that  is  useful  and  honorable, 
and  to  discourage  all  that  is  narrow  and  unworthy,  then  this 
assemblage  and  this  celebration  will  not  have  been  wasted  or  with- 
out result. 


Following  the  acceptance  of  the  building,  the  Hon.  Alexan- 
der E.  Orr,  President  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  made  this 
address : 

Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  : 

In  answer  to  your  kind  invitation  to  be  present  here  to-day, 
I  must  first  speak  in  words  of  unqualified  praise  and  admiration  of 
the  manly  and  dignified  manner  in  which  you  have  won  for  the 
New  York  Clearing  House  Association,  in  greater  measure  than  ever 
before,  the  appreciation  and  respect  of  your  fellow-citizens  of  the 
mercantile  classes,  and  especially  of  the  members  of  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce  of  the  State  of  New  York  whom  I  have  the  honor 
here  to  represent,  and  in  whose  name  and  behalf  I  beg  to  tender 
you  most  cordial  congratulations  and  earnest  good  wishes  upon 
this  auspicious  and,  to  you,  ever-memorable  occasion. 

You  have  given  the  very  best  evidence  possible  of  the  growing 
influence  and  usefulness  of  your  organization,  and  you  have  pre- 
sented every  reason  for  the  reaffirmation  of  the  public  faith  in  its 
stability  and   permanence   by  the  magnificent   edifice  you  have 


44 


provided  for  its  future  home.  It  is  as  artistic  in  its  design  as  it 
is  comprehensive  in  its  proportions  and  beautiful  in  its  general 
effect,  and  it  will  ever  prove  a  lasting  monument  of  the  genius 
of  your  architect  and  of  the  courage  and  self-appreciation  that 
influenced  you  to  determine  that  it  should  be  erected.  But  to 
us  this  handsome  and  substantial  building  does  not  merely  mean 
an  aggregation  of  comforts  and  conveniences  to  be  used  in  the 
operation  of  the  purposes  for  which  it  has  been  constructed,  and 
a  laudable  desire  on  your  part  to  present  evidences  of  a  refined 
taste  and  a  high  order  of  architectural  embellishment ;  it  reaches 
further  and  deeper,  and  suggests  a  closer  relationship  which  will 
hereafter  exist  between  the  banking  institutions  of  this  city  than 
ever  before,  thereby  broadening  and  enlarging  their  usefulness  and 
directly  benefiting  the  community  that  extends  to  them  its  pat- 
ronage and  trusts  them  with  its  money.  Indeed,  it  will  reach 
further  and  deeper  still,  for  if  advantage  is  taken  of  the  possi- 
bilities, and  your  members  will  make  this  place  their  rendezvous 
for  general  conference  and  interchange  of  views,  and  will  act  up 
to  the  dignity  and  strength  of  their  position  with  a  determination 
that  will  not  brook  defeat,  I  firmly  believe  that  this  home  of  yours 
will  in  time  become  the  centre  of  financial  thought  and  action  in 
the  United  States ;  not  only  giving  tone  and  character  to  the 
banking  institutions  of  the  country,  but  also  confidence  and 
incentive  to  the  people  of  every  walk  in  life,  who  will  look  to  it 
for  guidance  and  suggestion  in  forming  their  demands  for  sound 
financial  legislation,  for  the  lack  of  which  this  land  stands  in  such 
sore  need  to-day  ;  for  be  assured,  gentlemen,  that  the  metropolitan 
cities  of  all  great  countries  are  now  viewed  as  the  recognized 
leaders  of  public  sentiment  within  their  borders,  and  that  what 
London  is  to  Great  Britain,  Paris  to  France,  and  Berlin  to  Germany, 
so  New  York  must  ever  be  to  the  United  States,  wherein  is  centred 
the  wealth,  the  culture,  the  arts  and  sciences,  and  the  refinement 


45 


of  the  whole  country.  It  is  very  meet,  therefore,  that  our  institu- 
tions of  every  kind  should  line  themselves  up  to  a  very  high 
standard  of  excellence,  a  credit  to  their  members  and  an  honor  to 
the  city ;  and  in  this  respect,  in  the  most  praiseworthy  manner, 
you  have  brought  your  organization  a  good  deal  further  forward 
than  just  abreast  of  the  times. 

In  this  wonderful  country  of  ours,  so  eminently  commercial 
throughout  its  length  and  breadth,  there  is  to  my  mind  no  influence 
more  potent  in  insuring  growth,  prosperity,  and  development  than 
a  sound  and  comprehensive  banking  system.  While  such  a  system 
must  of  necessity  be  founded  upon  and  operated  under  laws,  these 
laws  should  be  the  outcome  of  experience  and  practice  very  much 
more  than  theory,  and  ought  only  to  be  formulated  after  the  legis- 
lating body  has  sought  insight  and  counsel  from  recognized 
financial  authorities.  For  who  among  all  the  people  are  better 
qualified  to  suggest  financial  requirements  and  remedies,  or  to 
point  out  financial  dangers,  than  those  who  are  continually  holding 
their  fingers  upon  the  financial  and  commercial  pulses  of  the 
Nation  ? 

It  will  be  remembered  by  many  here  present — I  remember  it 
very  well — that  it  was  a  source  of  keen  regret  and  anxiety  to  the 
financiers  of  1 861-1865  that  the  necessities  of  the  country  during 
our  Civil  War  induced  Congress  to  depart  from  the  ordinary  func- 
tions of  legislation  and  compelled  an  Executive  department  of  the 
Government  to  enter  into  a  system  of  banking  that  was  never 
contemplated  by  the  Constitution,  and  for  which  it  was  not  then 
and  has  never  since  been  adequately  equipped.  The  question  is 
not  now  whether  such  action  was  wise  or  warranted  (for,  indeed, 
it  is  impossible  at  this  distant  period  and  without  the  presence  of 
that  terrible  anxiety  and  the  pressure  of  that  fierce  struggle  for 
national  existence  to  say  what  was  then  wise  or  warranted),  but 
what  must  now  be  done  to  work  ourselves  back  again  into  those 


46 


conditions  of  conservatism  and  safety  that  were  enjoyed  before 
the  pressure  of  necessity  brought  about  the  new  departure.  I  think 
we  are  all  of  one  mind  that  there  cannot  be  two  great  banking 
systems  successfully  operated  at  the  same  time  in  the  United 
States,  one  by  the  Government  and  one  by  the  people,  and  that 
sooner  or  later  that  which  is  not  legitimate  must  stand  aside ;  and 
it  is  very  evident,  in  fact  there  is  not  the  shadow  of  a  doubt 
among  men  versed  in  financial  affairs,  that  the  Government,  sooner 
or  later,  must  be  that  one.  But  the  problem  is,  how  to  get  back 
with  the  least  strain  or  hurt  to  any  home  interest,  and  at  the  same 
time  maintain  our  national  honor  and  credit  both  at  home  and 
abroad.  This  whole  question  is  so  important  and  its  early  solution 
so  necessary  to  our  welfare  as  a  country  that  it  should  be  classified 
as  "  urgent "  and  made  to  stand  head  and  shoulders  above  parties 
and  politics.  It  should  receive  the  prompt  and  earnest  considera- 
tion of  Congress,  and  of  every  citizen  in  public  or  private  life  who 
is  constituted  by  his  vocation  or  calling  to  express  an  intelligent 
opinion  on  financial  subjects ;  and,  above  all,  it  should  receive 
yours  in  your  corporate  capacity.  For  rest  assured,  gentlemen,  that 
if  you  are  true  to  the  general  expectation,  to  your  responsibilities 
and  your  opportunities,  and  will  exert  the  influence  that  is  due 
to  your  position,  the  plan  which  receives  the  impress  of  your 
indorsement  and  is  earnestly  pressed  to  a  conclusion  must  finally 
prevail. 

Viewing  your  Association — this  combination  of  the  banking 
talent  in  the  commercial  metropolis  of  the  Union — from  this  stand- 
point, you  have  a  right  to  expect,  and  if  needs  be  demand,  for 
your  opinions  and  judgments  recognition  and  following,  not  only 
because  of  your  present  position  and  experience  but  also  because 
of  your  past  record,  which  is  acknowledged  both  at  home  and 
abroad  to  be  worthy  of  the  very  highest  consideration.  You  have 
time  and  again  stemmed  the  torrent  of  financial  and  commercial 


47 


disaster,  sometimes  the  result  of  those  somewhat  normal  business 
vicissitudes  which  may  be  classified  under  the  head  of  overtrad- 
ing and  of  rampant  and  illegitimate  speculation  ;  sometimes  the 
result  of  incompetent  or  vacillating  legislation,  which  seemed 
to  be  strangely  blind  or  else  criminally  indifferent  to  the  welfare 
of  the  people,  provided  "  the  party "  might  obtain  what  was 
supposed  to  be  some  political  advantage  ;  and  sometimes  the  out- 
come of  a  craze — honest  doubtless  with  many,  but  nevertheless 
a  craze — for  a  debased  and  debasing  currency  in  the  vain  hope 
that  the  quantity  and  not  the  quality  of  our  money  would  prove 
the  long-looked-for  panacea  for  all  agricultural  and  trade  depression 
and  general  financial  woe.  You  have  more  than  once,  under  the 
pressure  of  a  great  necessity,  courageously  circulated  a  currency  of 
your  own  invention,  which  for  the  time  being  gave  elasticity  to 
the  faulty  and  non-elastic  currency  of  the  country,  and  which,  after 
it  had  fulfilled  its  mission,  promptly  retired  itself  without  strain 
or  hurt  to  any  interest  after  the  great  necessity  had  passed  away. 
You  have  sometimes  come  together  and,  so  to  speak,  consolidated 
your  assets  in  the  public  interest  and  for  mutual  protection,  and 
then  parted  asunder  and  again  resumed  your  respective  individual- 
isms  when  the  pressure  was  passed,  and  your  protective  and  accom- 
modating policy  had  accomplished  its  saving  purpose. 

Now,  in  the  doing  of  all  this  you  have  unhesitatingly  accepted 
responsibilities  in  the  interest  of  commerce,  of  the  people  and  for 
the  national  good,  with  a  promptness  and  forethought  that  are 
beyond  all  praise.  It  is  true  that  you  have  never  been  called  to 
account  for  any  possible  legal  shortcomings,  for  the  simple  reason 
that  you  have  always  proved  successful,  and  success,  like  charity, 
often  covers  a  very  great  number  of  sins.  But  the  question  that 
I  desire  to  ask  you  now  is  this  :  Should  there  not  be  vested  some- 
where a  discretionary  power  to  relieve  from  such  responsibility 
in  times  of  grave  emergency  or  stress?    Under  such  circumstances. 


48 


should  there  not  be  given  to  some  prominent  official  or  officials 
of  the  Government  authority  to  suspend  for  the  time  being  that 
part  of  the  banking  laws  which  it  might  be  necessary  to  violate  in 
providing  prompt  relief  ?  There  is  precedent  for  such  action  to 
be  found  among  the  great  commercial  countries  of  the  globe, 
whose  governments,  with  wise  forethought,  have  made  just  such 
admirable  provision  for  extraordinary  times  of  need.  Take  Great 
Britain,  for  instance.  She  empowers  her  Chancellor  of  the  Ex- 
chequer— an  officer  in  her  Government  corresponding  with  our 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury — acting  under  an  order  from  the  Cabinet, 
to  suspend  the  operations  of  the  Bank  Act  whenever  in  his  judg- 
ment the  gravity  of  the  situation  demands  the  exercise  of  this 
extraordinary  power ;  and  it  is  well  known  that  this  authority  has 
been  frequently  availed  of  with  immense  advantage  to  the  wide 
range  of  the  business  interests  of  that  country.  I  am  not  violating 
any  confidence  when  I  state  that  I  have  it  from  the  very  best 
authority  that  when  the  banking  house  of  Baring  Brothers  &  Co. 
applied  to  the  Bank  of  England  in  1892  for  assistance,  and 
made  known  the  enormous  volume  of  their  commitments  (some- 
where about  one  hundred  and  thirty  millions  of  dollars),  and  the 
corresponding  amount  of  their  requirements,  the  Governor  of 
the  Bank,  realizing  the  disastrous  consequences  that  would  ensue 
from  their  failure,  but  at  the  same  time  believing  that  if  they 
could  be  sustained  their  estate  would  ultimately  prove  solvent, 
promptly  laid  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case  before  the  Chancellor 
of  the  Exchequer,  and  that  officer,  recognizing  the  gravity  of  the 
situation,  as  promptly  agreed  to  stand  by  the  bank  to  the  full 
extent  of  his  delegated  power  whenever  called  upon  to  do  so, 
provided  the  directors  finally  determined  that  it  was  best  to  grant 
the  needed  relief.  Armed  and  encouraged  with  this  assurance 
(which,  by  the  way,  was  not  availed  of,  so  potent  was  the  knowl- 
edge that  it  would  be  forthcoming  if  called  for),  in  less  than  twenty- 


49 


four  business  hours,  a  Sunday  intervening,  the  Bank  of  England 
formed  that  famous  syndicate  which  guaranteed  the  Baring  obH- 
gations  and  thus  averted  what  would  have  otherwise  proved  the 
most  disastrous  panic  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Now,  all  this 
was  accomplished  without  the  loss  of  a  single  dollar  to  any  of 
the  contracting  parties,  and  a  great  financial  crisis  was  safely  passed 
because  the  wisdom  and  forethought  of  the  British  Government 
has  always  recognized  the  possibility  of  financial  emergency,  and 
has  wisely  made  provision  beforehand,  by  reasonable  flexibility 
of  law,  for  its  relief.  And  just  here  let  me  make  a  further  state- 
ment— and  it  can  be  easily  substantiated  :  The  plan  of  the  Baring 
syndicate  was  founded  upon  your  previous  action,  the  inspiration 
of  its  mode  of  procedure  was  largely  drawn  from  you,  and  while  I 
would  not  wish  to  lessen  by  a  single  hair's-breadth  the  honor  that 
properly  attaches  to  the  Governor  of  the  Bank  of  England  of  that 
day,  who  so  magnificently  carried  that  transaction  to  a  successful 
issue,  I  cannot  help  saying  to  you,  with  both  pride  and  pleasure, 
that  the  entire  credit  of  the  method  used  properly  belongs  to  you. 
I  see  no  reason  whatever  why  the  Congress  of  the  United  States 
should  not  follow  the  example  of  the  British  Parliament  and  make 
provision  for  extraordinary  financial  emergency  in  the  same  manner 
that  it  has  in  its  wisdom  provided  for  the  suspension  of  the  right 
of  habeas  corpus  and  the  declaration  of  martial  law  in  times  of 
riot  or  war,  or  the  temporary  suppression  of  immigration  when 
the  danger  of  epidemic  requires  the  exercise  of  extraordinary 
power  to  protect  the  public  health  ;  for  surely  it  must  be  admitted 
that  there  are  no  more  vital  conditions  of  public  welfare  entitled 
to  receive  the  protecting  care  of  legislation  than  the  financial, 
industrial,  agricultural,  and  commercial  interests  of  this  country, 
upon  the  successful  outcome  of  which  so  very  many  of  our  people, 
and  even  the  credit  and  stability  of  the  Government  itself,  so 
largely  depend. 


50 

And  now,  gentlemen,  a  single  thought  more  and  I  have 
done.  While  I  believe  that  it  is  the  sentiment  of  the  country 
that  the  Government  should  withdraw  from  its  present  banking 
position  at  as  early  a  date  as  practicable  and  with  as  little  wrench 
to  existing  conditions  as  possible,  there  is  no  reason  why  the 
closest  relationship  and  confidence  should  not  exist  between  the 
Government  and  the  banks,  to  the  mutual  protection  and  benefit 
of  both.  The  banks  of  New  York  have  ever  proved  loyal  and  true, 
and  have  always  been  foremost  in  the  laudable  race  to  strengthen 
the  treasury  and  uphold  the  national  honor  and  credit  whenever 
there  was  the  slightest  evidence  that  such  assistance  was  needed, 
and  what  they  have  done  in  the  past  in  this  respect  we  are  sure 
they  will  ever  stand  ready  to  repeat  in  the  future.  But  it  is  not 
my  province  or  purpose  even  to  suggest  how  all  this  may  be 
accomplished.  It  is  for  you  to  formulate  the  ways  and  means  and 
then  concentrate  public  opinion  upon  the  necessity,  and  stand  by 
your  action  until  success  rewards  your  courage  and  perseverance. 
I  am  only  here  as  the  representative  of  the  oldest  commercial 
organization  in  the  United  States,  to  express  the  deep  sense  of 
our  obligations  for  the  great  benefits  that  we,  the  representatives  of 
the  commercial  interests  of  New  York,  have  received  and  are  to-day 
receiving  by  and  through  your  admirable  Association,  to  compli- 
ment you  upon  your  past  record,  to  congratulate  you  on  having  so 
magnificently  compassed  the  present,  to  encourage  you  onward 
towards  even  higher  aims  in  the  future,  and,  with  assurances  that 
we  shall  ever  look  to  you  with  pride  and  confidence  as  an  indispen- 
sable adjunct  to  all  commercial  interests  as  the  years  roll  on,  to 
wish  you,  in  the  name  and  in  behalf  of  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce of  the  State  of  New  York,  a  cheering  and  sympathetic  God 
speed. 


51 


An  impressive  feature  in  the  ceremonies  was  then  introduced 
in  the  singing  of  "  America  "  by  the  audience  and  the  Glee  Club, 
after  which  Bishop  Potter  made  the  following  address  : 

Mr.    President,    Gentlemen  of    the  Board   of   Manag-ers,  Felloiv 
Citizens  : 

I  can  imagine  nothing  more  unnecessary  than  any  attempt  on 
my  part  to  gild  the  refined  gold,  whether  of  this  noble  building 
or  of  the  no  less  impressive  utterances  of  the  orators  of  this  day. 
Indeed,  it  has  been  to  me  a  matter  of  delightful  surprise  to  find 
among  men  devoted  to  business  pursuits  so  many  evidences  of  the 
possession  of  a  cultivated  eloquence  which  the  pulpit  or  the  bar 
might  envy  as  well  as  admire.  The  clear  and  luminous  address 
of  my  friend,  Mr.  Tappen  ;  the  scholarly  and  poetic  oration  of  my 
earlier  friend  and,  amid  other  scenes,  sometime  fellow-townsman, 
Mr.  Simmons  ;  the  admirable  and  forcible  presentation  of  your  Presi- 
dent, Mr.  Nash ;  and,  finally,  the  thoughtful  and  philosophic  utter- 
ances of  my  fellow-citizen  (may  I  call  him  ?)  in  the  bonds  of  that 
Greater  New  York  which,  alas !  I  fear  he  does  not  yet  greatly  love — 
I  mean  our  honored  President  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  Mr. 
Orr — these  have  convinced  me  that  the  New  York  Clearing  House 
must  contain  somewhere  hidden  away  among  its  recesses  a  School 
of  Oratory,  and  that  we  whose  trade  it  is  to  talk,  in  view  of  such 
non-professional  rivalry,  may  well  look  to  our  laurels. 

But  one  word  yet  remains  to  be  said,  and  perhaps  I  may  as 
well  say  it  as  any  other.  Outside  the  constituency  represented 
within  these  walls  this  morning,  gentlemen,  there  is  another  and 
a  much  larger  one.  The  completion  of  this  building,  and  the 
illustrations  here  afforded  of  the  ways  in  wdiich  the  convenience  of 
a  vast  business  may  be  combined  with  dignity  of  construction, 
grace  of  proportion,  and  refinement  of  decoration,  are  matters 
which  interest  not  only  bankers  and  those  who  are  associated  with 


52 


banking  interests,  but  a  great  multitude  of  other  people  who  will 
never  see  this  structure  nor  enter  these  halls.  They  are  the  people 
who  have  for  this,  their  metropolitan  home,  the  old  Roman  instinct 
of  civism,  who  take  a  just  interest  in  its  history  and  a  just  pride  in 
its  progress,  who  long  to  see  it  great,  and  honorable,  and  beautiful. 

Yes,  that  is  it — great,  and  honorable,  and  beautiful.  But,  in 
order  to  be  great,  a  city  must  have  something  more  than  wealth 
or  numbers  ;  in  order  to  be  honorable,  it  must  have  something 
more  than  the  mere  reputation  that  it  lives  up  to  its  written  con- 
tracts ;  in  order  to  be  beautiful,  it  must  have  something  besides 
parks  and  well-lighted  streets  and  stately  homes. 

Civic  greatness  means  civic  integrity,  civic  enterprise,  civic 
courage  and  large-mindedness  ;  civic  honor  means  civic  unselfishness, 
civic  enthusiasm  for  every  noble  and  righteous  cause,  civic  fearless- 
ness in  the  face  of  unworthy  influences  or  combinations ;  and, 
finally,  civic  beauty  means  a  spirit  that  touches  all  works  of  con- 
struction, whatever  the  use  to  which  they  are  to  be  devoted,  with 
that  finer  grace  and  charm  which  makes  the  tasks  of  life  some- 
how easier  because  the  surroundings  amid  which  we  do  them  make 
some  other  appeal  to  us  than  to  that  merely  which  is  serviceable 
or  convenient.  I  suppose  that  this  building  might  have  been  reared 
for  less  money,  or  finished  with  less  ornament.  I  am  sincerely  glad 
that  it  was  not.  If  it  had  been  bad,  or  inartistic,  or  unmeaning 
ornament  that  had  adorned  it,  I  should  have  been  as  sincerely  sorry. 
But,  as  it  is,  it  is  an  object-lesson  in  dignity  and  beauty  of  con- 
struction which  will  have  an  influence  far  wider  and  more  enduring 
than  you  or  I  can  estimate. 

As  such,  surely,  it  is  no  unworthy  home  for  the  great  principle 
for  which  it  stands.  That  principle  might  doubtless  be  stated  in 
many  ways ;  but  one  statement  of  it,  I  think,  might  be  made  in  those 
words  of  the  Apostle's  :  "  Owe  no  man  anything,  but  to  love  one 
another.    Provide  things  honest  in  the  sight  of  all  men."  This 


53 


Clearing  House  stands  as  an  example  to  all  men  everywhere  of 
promptitude  in  the  payment  of  our  debts,  and  of  honesty  in  the 
equivalents  in  which  we  pay  them.  Better  still,  it  stands  for  those 
coordinating  forces  of  finance  on  which  must  always  rest  the 
substantial  prosperity  of  any  country.  These  are  times  when 
many  clever  people  are  declaiming  loudly  against  wealth  ;  but,  as 
Mr.  Buckle  in  his  "  History  of  Civilization"  has  unanswerably  stated 
the  case  :  "  Of  all  the  results  which  are  produced  among  a  people  by 
their  climate,  food,  and  soil,  the  accumulation  of  wealth  is  the 
most  important.  For,  although  the  progress  of  knowledge  eventu- 
ally accelerates  the  increase  of  wealth,  it  is  nevertheless  certain 
that,  in  the  first  formation  of  society,  wealth  must  accumulate 
before  knowledge  can  begin  ;  because,  without  wealth  there  can 
be  no  taste  or  leisure  for  that  acquisition  of  knowledge  on  which 
the  progress  of  civilization  depends."  You  are  here,  then,  gentle- 
men, as  guardians  of  that  which  is  not  less  necessary  than  those 
other  forces  whose  instrument  it  is,  and  which  determine  the 
greatness  of  a  community  or  a  nation.  You  have  shown  yourselves 
worthy  of  the  confidence  and  respect  of  your  fellow-citizens  by 
your  discharge  of  a  great  trust  in  a  great  way  ;  and,  to-day,  we  can 
wish  no  better  thing  for  this  institution  and  its  future  than  that  that 
future  may  not  be  unworthy  of  its  most  useful  and  honorable  past. 


The  ceremonies  were  concluded  by  Bishop  Potter  pronouncing 
the  benediction,  after  which  the  audience  inspected  the  building 
and  partook  of  the  following  collation  in  the  Bank  Officers'  meeting 
room  : 


54 


MENU 


CHAUD 

Consomm^  de  volaille 
Huitres  a  la  Viennaise 
Croquettes  de  poularde 
Homard  k  la  Newberg 
Th6  et  Caf6 

FROID 

Filet  de  boeuf,  Boh^mienne 
Galantine  de  poulet  aux  truffes 
Terrines  de  foies-gras  a  la  gel^e 
Cailles  brais^es  garnies  de  cresson 
Mayonnaise  de  volaille 
Salade  de  homard 
Pain  de  rillettes 
Sandwiches 

ENTREMETS  DE  DOUCEUR 


Gel^e  aux  fraises 
Gateaux  noisettes 


Gaufres  Chantilly 
Madeleine 


Savarin  h  I'orange 

Pieces  mont^es 
Glaces  fantaisies 


Fruits 


Bonbons 


Petits  fours 
Devises 


Dessert 


VINS 


Moet  Imperial  Brut 


Perrier  Jouet  Reserve 


Apollinaris 


Mercredi,  15  Janvier,  1896 
New  York  Clearing  House 


DELMONICO 


NEW   YORK   CLEARING    HOUSE,    PINE   AND   NASSAU  STREETS. 
1875-1895. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  NEW  BUILDING 

OF  THE 

NEW  YORK  CLEARING  HOUSE  ASSOCIATION 


The  building  occupies  a  site  upon  the  north  side  of  Cedar 
Street,  77  to  83,  between  Broadway  and  Nassau  Street,  in  the  centre 
of  that  district  of  financial  institutions  which  has  grown  up  about 
Wall  Street. 

It  is  a  structure  quite  different  from  the  ordinary  office  building, 
because  of  the  special  nature  of  the  operations  for  which  it  is 
designed.  The  Clearing  House  work  is  peculiar  to  itself,  and  has 
arisen  out  of  the  necessities  of  the  banks  of  New  York  which  are 
associated  to  maintain  it.  These  are  now  sixty-six  in  number,  and 
their  representative  officers  form  the  powerful  financial  association 
which  gives  that  unity  and  stability  which  distinguish  the  banking 
interests  of  New  York  and  which  have  become  matters  of  national 
pride  and  importance.  The  Boards  and  Committees  for  special 
objects,  which  are  perhaps  the  most  important  departments,  have  in 
their  new  quarters  accommodations  of  a  kind  not  hitherto  enjoyed, 
although  very  much  needed  ;  and  the  original  function  of  the 
Clearing  House — the  adjustment  of  balances  in  the  daily  routine 
work — is  facilitated  by  offices  carefully  adapted  to  the  interesting 
system  which  has  been  evolved,  so  to  speak,  from  the  demands  of  the 


56 


work,  and  which  is  now  so  perfectly  organized  and  defined  that  an 
hour  or  two  in  the  exchange  department  suffices  each  day  to  balance 
and  settle  the  accounts  of  all  the  hundred  and  forty-eight  banks,  trust 
companies,  etc.,  doing  business  together,  and  that  another  hour  or 
two  in  another  department  sees  these  balances  actually  paid  or 
received  and  the  books  closed.  Each  day  completely  finishes  and 
ends  its  own  business.  There  are  no  running  accounts  in  the  usual 
sense  of  the  words. 

The  new  edifice,  designed  by  R.  W.  Gibson,  the  Architect,  of 
New  York,  is  a  handsome  structure  of  white  marble,  in  an  Italian 
Renaissance  style,  somewhat  reminiscent  of  public  buildings  of  the 
Colonial  and  Independence  periods.  It  has  a  frontage  toward  the 
street  of  about  ninety-four  feet,  and  a  depth  a  little  less.  The  front 
is  of  only  three  stories,  but  each  is  of  palatial  height,  the  first  twenty 
feet,  the  second  twenty-five  feet,  and  the  third  twenty  feet,  with  a 
domed  roof  of  thirty  feet  more,  making  the  total  height  about  one 
hundred  feet,  with  a  cornice  about  seventy-five  feet  high.  A  Corin- 
thian order  is  used,  extending  through  the  two  lower  stories,  which 
not  only  gives  a  dignity  of  character  but  also  serves  to  preserve 
masses  of  solid  masonry  in  the  four  columns,  in  spite  of  the  very 
large  windows  demanded  for  practical  reasons,  and  to  present  the 
material  in  a  way  which  will  be  effective  in  the  foreshortened  view  in 
a  narrow  street.  The  first-story  windows,  extending  almost  from 
column  to  column,  have  straight  heads  with  a  projecting  balustraded 
cornice.  Those  of  the  second  story  have  semicircular  arches  upon 
separate  pilasters,  with  emblematic  figures  life-size,  carved  in  the 
spandrels,  by  J.  Massey  Rhind.  Over  the  centre  window  the  figures 
represent  "Method"  and  "Trust";  and  over  the  other  two,  "  Man- 
ufactures "  and  "  Agriculture,"  and  "Railroading"  and  "Shipping." 
Over  these  the  main  cornice  is  broken  round  each  column,  so  as  not 
to  obstruct  daylight.  An  attic  of  liberal  height  surmounts  the  order. 
It  is  divided  into  three  panels  separated  by  statues  on  pedestals 


57 


standing  on  each  column.  The  panels  are  rich  carvings  of  the  Na- 
tional, State,  and  City  coats  of  arms,  set  in  elaborate  openwork  scrolls 
and  foliage,  behind  which  are  windows  for  the  ventilation  of  the  third 
story.  The  dome  which  surmounts  this  attic  is  principally  an  internal 
feature,  providing  great  height  and  abundance  of  light  to  the  large 
Exchange  room.  It  cannot  be  much  seen  from  the  street,  except  at 
certain  points,  and  the  architectural  composition  of  the  exterior  is 
complete  without  it. 

The  entrances  are  by  porches  at  each  end  of  the  facade.  Rusti- 
cated arched  doorways,  nine  feet  wide  and  seventeen  feet  high,  with 
handsome  vestibules,  afford  dignified  and  ample  approaches. 

One,  the  eastern,  is  used  by  the  Clearing  House,  and  the  other 
by  its  one  tenant,  a  bank  occupying  the  whole  of  the  ground  floor  and 
a  part  of  the  basement.  These  banking  offices  are  of  unusual  extent 
and  convenience.  They  include  eight  thousand  feet  of  floor  space, 
with  windows  on  the  side  alley  and  rear  courts,  as  well  as  the  great 
windows  fourteen  feet  wide  at  the  front.  The  bank  basement  is 
equally  well  lighted.  It  contains  clerical  space  and  vaults,  and 
dining-rooms  and  other  accommodations. 

The  Clearing  House  for  its  own  use  reserves  a  wide  hall  on  the 
east  side,  with  a  principal  staircase  for  general  business  and  with  a 
private  stair  and  elevator  for  staff  and  board  uses.  The  main  stair- 
case is  not  supplanted  by  elevators  in  this  building  as  in  many 
others.  The  peculiar  circumstances  of  nearly  two  hundred  clerks 
arriving  and  departing  almost  simultaneously  would,  if  elevators  were 
to  be  used,  have  required  ten  or  a  dozen  cars  which  would  be  idle  at 
all  other  times.  The  stair  is  more  available  and  is  therefore  treated 
with  more  of  the  old-style  importance.  It  is  six  feet  wide,  with  easy 
steps  and  square  landings,  and  massively  built  with  Ionic  columns  and 
balustrades,  so  as  to  be  a  striking  architectural  feature.  The  white 
effects  of  the  marble  exterior  are  also  continued  through  the  halls 
and  staircase  work  in  marble,  and  enamelled  white  and  gold  ironwork. 


58 


The  second  story  is  the  principal  one.  Here  are  the  Adminis- 
tration offices  of  the  Clearing  House,  consisting  of  a  Reception  office, 
a  Manager's  office  adjoining  the  Assistant  Manager's  and  Clerks' 
offices,  all  of  which  are  toward  the  front  of  the  building  to  the  left  of 
the  stair  hall.  On  the  right  are  placed  the  Board  room,  with  one 
hundred  chairs  and  with  desks  for  presiding  officer,  secretaries,  etc. 
There  are  anterooms  with  usual  conveniences  ;  one  for  coats,  etc.  ; 
one  for  small  committees.  The  hall  of  this  Board-room  department 
is  reached  from  the  main  stair  hall  and  also  by  a  large  private 
elevator  from  the  private  hall  below.  This  elevator,  which  is  moved 
by  electricity,  also  serves  for  the  transfer  of  bullion,  coin,  and  books 
to  the  vaults,  and  has  been  specially  strengthened  and  secluded  for 
that  purpose.  In  addition,  a  private  stair  extends  from  this  floor  up 
to  the  roof  and  down  to  the  basement.  The  Board  room  is  a  square 
room  treated  massively  with  rich  and  heavy  effects  in  decoration. 
The  ceiling  is  in  deep  gilded  panelling,  with  large  cornices  supported 
by  marble  pilasters.  Daylight  is  afforded  by  a  top  light  with  orna- 
mental panelled  glazing,  and  by  windows  placed  at  the  two  sides,  so 
that  neither  the  Board  nor  its  Officers  have  to  face  an  annoying 
glare.  Communicating  with  the  Board  room  and  the  small  Com- 
mittee room  is  the  Library,  intended  to  be  used  also  as  a  large 
Committee  room.  It  adjoins  the  Manager's  office,  and  completes 
the  circuit  around  the  whole  of  this  story.  An  object  in  this 
arrangement  is  to  make  these  handsome  rooms  a  suite  available  for 
official  receptions  and  other  ceremonies,  which,  although  of  only 
occasional  occurrence,  are  yet  of  much  importance.  At  such  times 
the  movement  of  the  visitors  is  in  one  direction  only.  Entering  at 
the  Reception  room,  they  pass  on  through  the  other  departments  and 
reach  the  hall  from  the  other  side. 

The  remaining  part  of  this  floor  is  the  Cash  department,  occu- 
pying the  central  square  of  thirty  feet  immediately  in  face  of  the 
stairs  and  adjoining  the  Assistant  Manager's  office.     This  is  the 


59 


office  where  the  daily  balances  are  received  from  or  paid  to  each  bank 
after  the  amounts  have  been  adjusted  in  the  Exchange  or  Clearing 
room  on  the  floor  above.  The  Cash  department,  and,  in  fact,  the 
whole  of  the  second  floor,  is  treated  with  considerable  architectural 
effect.  The  great  height  permits  of  handsome  ceilings.  Intersect- 
ing vaults  are  used  over  the  executive  offices,  and  an  elliptical  dome 
with  glazed  "eye"  for  daylight  over  the  Cash  department.  The 
Library  has  a  coved  ceiling  of  rectangular  shape.  The  large  Board- 
room ceiling  is  of  massive  enriched  panel  work  of  Roman  Renais- 
sance type.  The  whole  story  has  been  treated  in  the  manner  of  the 
old  public  buildings  upon  which  this  is  modelled. 

The  third  story  is  reached  by  a  continuation  of  the  principal 
stair.  It  consists  chiefly  of  the  great  Exchange  or  Clearing  room, 
sixty  feet  square,  with  two  extensions  or  wings,  making  its  greatest 
length  eighty  feet.  This  is  a  noble  room,  very  simply  treated  yet  of 
great  dignity.  The  ceiling  is  a  dome  rising  twenty-five  feet  above 
the  twenty-foot  walls.  It  is  panelled  in  fireproof  staff  in  Roman 
Renaissance  style,  and  the  walls  have  pilasters  of  a  Corinthian  order 
supporting  the  cornice  and  dome.  The  large  floor  is  occupied  by 
the  sixty-six  desks  of  the  settling  clerks,  each  of  whom  has  his  own 
numbered  station.  The  great  space  is  needed  to  facilitate  the  visit 
of  every  clerk  in  turn  to  every  other  clerk,  which  is  accomplished  by 
an  arrangement  of  the  desks  in  serial  order  and  a  sort  of  "counter 
march  "  during  which  the  exchanges  are  effected.  This  is  an  inter- 
esting operation,  which  need  not  be  more  than  referred  to  here. 
The  Manager's  gallery,  from  which  the  business  is  directed,  is  at  one 
end  of  the  room,  raised  a  few  feet  and  reached  by  marble  steps.  It 
is  also  accessible  by  the  private  stair  and  elevator  for  the  convenience 
of  the  officers  and  visitors.  The  whole  is  lighted  by  a  great  iron  and 
glass  skylight  forming  the  upper  part  of  the  dome. 

At  the  rear  of  the  Clearing  room  is  a  wing  of  the  building  divided 
into  three  upper  stories.    One  floor,  reached  by  private  stair  and 


6o 


elevator,  has  dining-rooms  for  officers  and  clerks,  and  a  large  pantry 
and  other  conveniences.  The  next  has  the  kitchen  and  appurtenances 
and  janitor's  dining-room,  and  above  that  the  janitor's  private  rooms. 
There  are  also  two  spare  rooms,  one  arranged  for  staff  use,  with  bath- 
room, etc.,  another  as  a  spare  office.  In  the  attics  there  are  spaces 
for  storage,  and  others  occupied  by  ventilating  fans. 

The  basement  remains  to  be  described.  The  Engineer's  depart- 
ment occupies  a  space  under  the  sidewalk  and  the  entrance  hall. 
Here  are  steam  boilers  for  heating  and  engines  for  pumping.  The 
motors  for  elevators  and  much  of  the  other  machinery  are  electric. 
Four  elevators  for  vault  and  cellar  purposes  are  used  in  addition  to 
the  passenger  elevator.  Two  of  these  are  used  to  receive  coin  or 
bullion  from  the  sidewalk  and  transfer  it  direct  to  the  vaults.  Beyond 
the  Engineer's  department,  and  guarded  by  double  walls  and  steel 
grilles,  are  the  large  money  vaults  of  the  Clearing  House,  three  in 
number.  These  are  of  most  perfect  modern  construction,  of  welded 
steel  and  iron  laminated  compound  plates,  which  combine  drill-proof 
tempered  steel  with  the  toughest  fibrous  iron,  to  resist  explosive 
forces,  and,  with  a  system  of  inspection  devised  by  the  architect,  are 
absolutely  unassailable.  The  steel  cells  are  surrounded  by  an  open 
space  for  patrol  by  the  watchmen,  who  have  clear  view,  not  only  of 
the  sides  but  also  the  top  and  bottom  of  the  vaults.  There  are  also 
concealed  defences  against  attack  by  force,  and  electricity  and  steam 
may  be  utilized  in  new  ways  as  means  of  defence  and  to  give  alarm. 

The  construction  of  the  whole  building  is  most  massive  and  per- 
fectly fireproof.  A  steel  skeleton  is  used  to  strengthen  the  framing, 
and  the  walls  are  all  designed  of  the  full  thickness  usual  in  buildings 
not  of  the  skeleton  class.  The  columns,  girders,  and  floor  beams 
throughout  are  each  separately  calculated  for  their  strains  and  loads, 
so  that  a  rigid  economy  of  construction  is  practised,  although  the 
standard  is  fifty  per  cent,  higher  than  that  of  the  usual  office  build- 
ing rules. 


6i 


The  sanitary  engineering  is  thorough  ;  every  part  of  the  build- 
ing is  suppHed  with  fresh  air  by  ducts  from  fans  and  relieved  of  foul 
air  by  others,  and  this  system  is  for  summer  use  as  well  as  winter, 
supplying  cool  air  independent  of  the  heating. 

FROM  "STONE" 

At  the  level  of  the  main  floor  the  stairway  opens  out  in  a  vesti- 
bule or  entrance  hall  immediately  adjoining  the  counting  rooms  of 
the  Clearing  House.  This  occupies  the  centre  of  the  building  and 
is  supplied  with  counters  and  inclosures  much  like  a  bank.  The 
ceiling  is  filled  with  a  low,  plainly  cofTered  dome  with  a  sky  fiat  sky- 
light in  the  centre  forming  part  of  the  floor  of  the  Clearing  room 
above.  On  the  front,  and  also  opening  into  the  entrance  hall,  is  a 
corridor-like  series  of  apartments,  lighted  by  the  large  windows  of 
the  facade.  Here  is  an  anteroom,  the  Assistant  Manager's  room,  and 
the  Manager's  room  ;  the  two  former  are  separated  only  by  a  rail  and 
counter ;  the  latter  is  cut  off  from  the  other  parts  by  a  screen  of 
brass  and  marble.  The  three  form  a  loggia-like  series  with  a  contin- 
uous ceiling  of  arches  and  vaults  agreeably  frescoed.  An  interest- 
ing point  in  the  planning  here  is  that,  as  the  building  line  on  the 
street  was  not  at  right  angles  to  the  sides,  there  was  an  obliquity  in 
the  site  that  must  be  taken  care  of  in  the  plan.  The  inner  wall  of 
these  rooms  is  made  straight,  and  the  outer  follows  the  building  line. 
The  furthest  arch  of  the  ceiling,  as  we  enter  the  anteroom  from  the 
main  vestibule,  is  a  true  round  arch,  but  the  others  are  ellipses  of 
different  diameter.  This  succession  of  variously  curved  arches  has, 
however,  been  so  cleverly  managed  that  the  differences  between 
them  would  be  set  down  to  the  effect  of  perspective  instead  of  to 
structural  causes.  The  result  is  entirely  satisfactory,  the  rooms 
being  ample  for  the  uses  to  which  they  are  put,  and  so  cleverly 


62 


treated  architecturally  as  to  offer  the  utmost  apparent  symmetry. 
Polished  pilasters  of  white  Italian  marble  line  the  walls,  and  light- 
colored  pieces  of  Sienna  marble  are  used  as  panels  in  the  wains- 
coting, below  the  windows  and  the  counter  of  the  anteroom. 

Passing  through  these  rooms  the  visitor  enters  the  Library,  a 
large  rectangular  apartment,  lighted  on  the  side  and  end,  and  finished 
with  a  high  wainscoting  of  panelled  polished  mahogany.  The  wood- 
work is  extremely  well  done,  without  any  elaboration  save  the  monu- 
mental treatment  of  the  doorways  and  the  window  frames,  with  a 
large  mantel  on  the  side  and  bookcase  opposite.  Uncarved  and  un- 
pretentious as  the  panelling  is,  the  effect  is  very  rich,  with  brass  orna- 
ments and  delicate  lines  of  gold,  dependence  being  placed  more  on 
the  rich  coloring  of  the  material  than  on  its  architectural  adornment. 
The  coved  ceiling  is  panelled,  with  some  spaces  filled  with  a  painted 
decoration,  while  the  others  are  left  free  for  the  paintings  to  be 
added  from  time  to  time.  The  furniture  of  the  room  is  in  keeping 
with  its  stately  treatment,  a  fine  dark  green  leather  and  curtains  of 
the  same  color  affording  a  most  agreeable  harmony  with  the  warm 
dark  wood. 

The  further  door  of  the  Library  leads  to  a  corridor  running  the 
full  length  of  the  building,  and  marking,  in  a  measure,  the  sepa- 
ration between  the  front  and  rear  portions.  This  division  is  not 
accurately  true  on  the  second  floor,  which  is  wholly  given  up  to  the 
monumental  rooms,  the  state  apartments,  as  they  may  be  called,  of 
the  Clearing  House.  Directly  facing  us,  as  we  leave  the  Library,  is 
a  small  Committee  room  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  corridor.  From 
here  we  enter  the  Board  room,  which  fills  the  centre  of  the  back 
part  of  the  building,  or  we  may  walk  down  the  corridor  and  enter  it 
at  its  main  door.  From  whatever  point  of  view  the  Board  room  is 
entered,  one  receives  an  impression  of  splendor  which  is  entirely  in 
keeping  with  the,  use  made  of  it.  It  is  the  largest  room  on  this 
floor,  and  is  rectangular  in  shape  and  covered  with  a  richly  coffered 


63 


ceiling,  gilded  and  colored,  with  a  large  skylight  in  the  centre.  The 
outer  wall,  which  is  the  rear  wall  of  the  building,  is  left  blank  ;  in 
the  centre  is  a  monumental  niche  with  Ionic  columns  carrying  a 
pediment,  and  before  which  is  the  chair  and  desk  of  the  presiding 
officer.  Large  windows  admit  light  from  the  two  sides  of  the  room, 
the  walls  being  marked  off  by  Corinthian  columns  of  polished 
Sienna  marble,  with  gilded  capitals,  a  dado  of  the  same  material 
carried  wholly  around  it.  The  frames  of  the  doorways  at  the  end 
of  the  side  walls  are  of  the  same  rich  material,  which  is  also  em- 
ployed for  the  more  elaborate  monumental  doorway  in  the  centre 
of  the  entrance  wall,  and  for  the  niche  opposite.  The  walls  are 
tinted  pink  and  decorated  in  the  upper  part  with  a  wide  border  or 
frieze,  containing  the  seal  of  the  Association.  It  is  a  truly  sumptu- 
ous room,  artistically  treated  in  a  very  successful  way,  rich  in  effect, 
and  yet  so  well  harmonized  that  the  splendor  of  its  materials  is  not 
intrusive. 

In  the  front  of  the  building  the  third  story  is  filled  with  the  Clear- 
ing Room,  a  large  apartment  covering  the  entire  area  of  this  part. 
It  is  sixty  feet  square,  with  two  wings,  or  extensions,  that  make  its 
greatest  length  eighty  feet.  It  is  covered  with  a  large  dome,  whose 
lower  surface  is  treated  in  richly  decorated  panels,  while  the  upper 
part  is  of  glass.  Were  the  Clearing  House  situated  in  a  free,  open 
space  this  dome  would  form  a  feature  of  the  exterior ;  but  placed,  as 
it  is,  in  a  narrow  thoroughfare,  the  dome  has  not  been  considered  in 
the  external  design,  and  has  an  internal  value  only.  There  it  is 
most  successful,  adding  greatly  to  the  spaciousness  of  the  apartment 
it  covers  and  giving  a  sense  of  freedom  and  of  space  impossible 
with  a  flat  ceiling.  Architecturally  this  room  is  treated  with  the 
utmost  simplicity.  The  walls  are  marked  with  plain  white  marble 
pilasters  surmounted  with  gilded  Corinthian  capitals,  smaller  pilas- 
ters with  Ionic  capitals  being  placed  on  each  side  of  the  windows. 


64 


The  boldest  effect  is  in  the  direct  application  of  the  dome  to 
the  square  of  a  flat  ceiling  without  the  use  of  pendentives  or 
other  curved  surfaces  to  effect  the  transition.  The  dome,  therefore, 
directly  covers  the  room  without  the  introduction  of  the  usual 
architectural  conventions.  It  was  a  bold  expedient  perhaps,  yet 
eminently  successful.  It  permitted  the  use  of  a  dome — the  most 
beautiful  of  all  coverings  to  a  room — without  the  great  expense 
attendant  upon  the  use  of  pendentives,  giving  this  architectural 
feature  a  practical  utility  that  it  does  not  have  where  the  usual 
conventions  are  followed. 

The  architectural  treatment  of  the  exterior  of  the  Clearing 
House  is  most  impressive.  Essentially  simple  in  its  elements,  the 
design  has  been  so  enriched  with  beautiful  detail  as  to  make  it  one 
of  the  most  notable  buildings  in  the  metropolis.  The  main  building 
— and  the  entrance  wings  are  not  more  than  mere  entrances — is 
treated  with  four  engaged  Corinthian  columns,  standing  on  pedestals, 
the  wall  between  which  forms  the  base  wall  of  the  front.  Large 
windows  fill  the  spaces  between  the  columns,  lighting  the  banking 
room  within.  Above,  each  bay  has  a  single  high-arched  window, 
with  panelled  sides  and  enriched  arches,  with  figures  in  the  spandrels. 
A  balcony  before  each  window,  with  rich  balustrades,  completes  the 
parts  of  this  story.  Over  the  arches  is  the  entablature  of  the  col- 
umns, which  is  surmounted  by  the  attic  story,  the  front  of  which  is 
treated  with  a  pierced  design  including  the  National,  State,  and  City 
coats  of  arms.  The  front  practically  comes  to  a  conclusion  with  the 
cornice  of  the  attic,  the  dome,  as  already  explained,  forming  no  part 
of  the  external  design,  though  in  the  reproduction  of  the  water-color 
drawing  made  by  the  architect  it  is  included  in  it. 

There  can  be  no  question  of  the  success  of  this  front.  It  is 
stately,  dignified,  rich  ;  it  is  monumental,  it  is  good.  The  signal 
concession  to  commercial  requirements  that  may  be  noted  in  it  is  in 


65 


the  windows  of  the  first  story  being  wider  than  those  of  the  second — 
a  detail  of  no  great  consequence  in  itself,  though  doubtless  a  point 
that  the  conventionalists  would  object  to.  The  great  columns  that 
form  the  chief  feature  of  the  design  are  eminently  effective  in  secur- 
ing broad  window  space  and  serving,  at  the  same  time,  as  a  thor- 
oughly legitimate  form  of  decoration.  It  should  be  noted  that  the 
capitals  of  these  columns  have  been  especially  studied  for  this  build- 
ing and  are  not  direct  copies  from  the  antique,  a  procedure  not  often 
followed  in  modern  classical  productions  and  the  more  notable  since 
the  departures  from  ancient  models  are  not  sufficient  to  appear  indi- 
vidual or  even  original  to  the  casual  spectator. 

Beautiful  and  successful  as  this  building  is,  it  teaches  a  more 
important  lesson  than  architecture  alone.  A  new  day  has  dawned 
for  architecture  when  shrewd  men  of  business  deliberately  expend  a 
large  sum  of  money  in  purely  monumental  construction,  as  has  been 
the  case  here.  The  building  is  eminently  useful,  and  fitted  for  its 
especial  purposes  in  a  very  thorough  manner,  but  there  has  been  no 
concession  to  commercial  requirements  in  its  art.  It  expresses  a 
noble  public  spirit,  and  its  influence  upon  the  community  of  which  it 
is  so  superb  an  adornment  must  always  be  for  good.  It  is  some- 
thing to  accomplish  this  with  a  building,  but  it  is  seldom  it  has  been 
so  well  done  as  here. — Barr  Ferree. 


66 


Members  of  the  New  York  Clearing  House  Association,  January,  1896 


Vice-Presidents. 


Ass't  Cashiers. 


Bank  of  New  York,  N.  B.  A . . . 

Manhattan  Company  

Merchants'  National  Bank  

Mechanics'  National  Bank  

Bank  of  America  

Phenix  National  Bank  

National  City  Bank  

Tradesmen's  National  Bank... 

Chemical  National  Bank  

Merchants'  Exchange  Nat'l  B'k 

Gallatin  National  Bank  

Nat'l  Butchers  &  Drovers'  B'k. 
Mechanics'  and  Traders'  Bank 

Greenwich  Bank  

Leather  Manufac'rs'  Nat'l  B'k. 

Seventh  National  Bank  

Bank  of  the  State  of  New  York 
American  Exchange  Nat'l  B'k. 
National  Bank  of  Commerce  . . 

National  Broadway  Bank  

Mercantile  National  Bank  

Pacific  Bank   

National  Bank  of  the  Republic 

Chatham  National  Bank  

People's  Bank  

Nat  1  Bank  of  North  America  . 

Hanover  National  Bank  

Irving  National  Bank  

National  Citizens'  Bank  

Nassau  Bank  

Market  &  Fulton  Nat'l  Bank. . 
National  Shoe  &  Leather  Bank 

Corn  Exchange  Bank  

Continental  National  Bank. . .  • 

Oriental  Bank  ^  

Importers'  and  Traders'  Na- 1 
tional  Bank,  )' 

National  Park  Bank  

East  River  National  Bank  

Fourth  National  Bank  

Central  National  Bank  

Second  National  Bank  

Ninth  National  Bank  

First  National  Bank  

Third  National  Bank  

N.  Y.  National  Exchange  Bank 

Bowery  Bank  

N.  Y.  County  National  Bank  . . 

German-American  Bank  

Chase  National  Bank  

Fifth  Avenue  Bank  

German  Exchange  Bank  

Germania  Bank  

United  States  National  Bank. . 

Lincoln  National  Bank  

Garfield  National  Bank  

Fifth  National  Bank  

Bank  of  the  Metropolis  

West  Side  Bank  

Seaboard  National  Bank  

Sixth  National  Bank  

Western  National  Bank  

First  National  Bank,  Brooklyn 

Southern  National  Bank  

National  Union  Bank  

Liberty  National  Bank  

N.  Y.  Produce  Exchange  Bank 


E.  S.  Mason  

Stephen  Baker  

Robert  M.  Gallaway 

H.  E.  Garth  

Wm.  H.  Perkins.... 

D.  B.  Parmly  

James  Stillman  

James  Macnaughtan 
George  G.  Williams. 
P.  C.  Lounsbury  

F.  D.  Tappen  

G.  G.  Brinckerhoff. . 

I.  Boskowitz  

John  S.  McLean  

JohnT.  Willetts.... 
John  McAnerney  . . . 

R.  L.  Edwards  

Dumont  Clarke  

W.  W.  Sherman  .... 

F.  A.  Palmer  

Wm.  P.  St.  John.... 

H.  P.  Brundrett  .... 
Oliver  S.  Carter  .... 
George  M.  Hard.... 

ScottToster  

Warner  Van  Norden 
Jas.  T.  Woodward . . 


R.  B.  Ferris  

H.  K.  McHarg  . . . . 

E.  A.  Brinckerhoff. 
Alexander  E.  Orr. . 

F.  P.  Olcott  

W.  H.  Male  


J.  A.  Roosevelt . 

A.  S.  Apgar  

A.  H.  Stevens . . 


Charles  Olney  

J.  T.  Baldwin  

C.  V.  Banta  

G.  W.  Garth  

Walter  M.  Bennett. 
Alfred  M.  Bull  .... 
Geo.  D.  Meeker  . . . 
J.  W.  Clawson 


W.  H.  Macy,  Jr... 

James  Hall  

James  B.  Colgate. 


J.  Pierpont  Morgan 
H.  Hoagland  


'.  F.  Havemeyer. 
M.  M.  Packard,  I 
J.  M.  Donald,  )' 

Charles  H.  Fancher.  C.  S.  Brown  

W.  H.  Oakley  I  

"  "   Harris  !A.  Si  '  " 


R.  Bayles 

John  M.  Crane  

William  A.  Nash  . . . 
E.  D.  Randolph  . . . . 
Clinton  W.  Starkey . 
E.  H.  Perkins,  Jr. .  . 

Edward  E.  Poor  

Charles  Jenkins  

J.  Edward  Simmons 
Edwin  Langdon  

C.  B.  Fosdick  

John  K.  Cilley  

George  F.  Baker  . . . 
A.  B.  Hepburn  

D.  B.  Halstead  

H.  P.  DeGraaf  

Francis  L.  Leland  . . 

H.  Rocholl  

H. W.  Cannon  

\.  S.  Frissell  

M.  J.  Adrian  

S.  C.  Schaefer  


James  H.  Parker  . . . 
Thomas  L.  James  . . 
W.  H.  Gelshenen  ... 

Richard  Kelly  

Theo.  Rogers  

Christian  F.  Tietjen 
Samuel  G.  Bayne. . . 

A.  H.  Stevens  

Brayton  Ives   

J.  G.  Jenkins  

Isaac  Rosenwald  . . . 
Joseph  C.  Hendrix. . 


A.  Gilbert  

Ino.  A.  Hiltner. . . 

T.  T.  Barr  

J.  T.  Agnew  

G.  F.  Goodhue  . . . 


Stuyvesant  Fish. . . 
Raymond  Jenkins  . 
(  C.  N.  Bliss,  / 
"I  J.  G.  Cannon,  ( 


(  H.C.Fahnestock. 

/  J.  A.  Garland, 
1.  B.  Woodward... 

W.  H.  Albro  

R.  Hamilton  

W.  H.  Jennison.... 

Theo.  Dreier  

Wm.  H.  Porter.... 


Geo.  Rothman  

(  H.  W.  Schmidt,  / 
'/  Chas.  A.  King,  f 

W.  P.  Thompson  . . 

A.  Van  Santvoord . 

las.  McCutcheon  . . 

5.  Kelly  

W.  B.  Isham  

J.  Mulford  

S.  G.  Nelson  

W.  E.  Roosevelt... 

V.  P.  Snyder  


W.  S.  Johnson. . 
J  E.  O.  Leech, 
I  G.  M.  Haven, 

H.  M.  Maxwell. 


W.  J.  Quinlan,  Jr.. 
Allen  S.  Apgar  

A.  W.  Sherman  

W.  H.  Chase  

Fernando  Baltes. . . 
William  A.  Hawes. 
Isaac  H.  Walker... 
Geo,  W.  Adams  . . . 

B.  C.  Duer  

Edward  Burns  

William  C.  Duvall. 

A.  T.  J.  Rice  

Fred.  B.  Schenck.. 


S.  C.  Merwin  

Charles  H.  Stout  .. 

H.  P.  Doremus  

Wm.  Milne  

Alvah  Trowbridge. 

Wm.  Halls,  Jr  

Geo.  E.  Souper  

David  C.  Tiebout.. 

W.  H.  Rogers  

A.  Gilbert  

John  I.  Coles  

Loftin  Love  

Alfred  H.  Timpson 
Nelson  G.  Ayres. . . 
E.  Townsend  


C.  H.  Patterson 


,  Scofield. 


Henry  Chapin,  Jr. . 

Isaac  Howland  

F.  C.  Mayhew  

Frank  M.  Breese  . . 
T.  F.  Frederichs  . . . 

J.  T.  Mills,  Jr  

Frank  Dean  

Charles  L.  Adrian. 
J.  A.  Morschhauser 
Henry  C.  Hopkins. 
Wm.  T.  Cornell  . . . 

R.  W.  Poor  

A.  Thompson  

E.  C.  Evans  

Theo.  Bertine  

J.  F,  Thompson  ... 

A.  E.  Colson  

Henry  A.  Smith. . . 

W.  A.  Field  

J.  H.  Carr,  ist  Ass't 
Edward  O.  Leech  . 


j  E.  T.  Hulst. 

I  G.  P.  Hall. 
W.  E.  Trotter. 
J.  W.  Karriman. 

Jno.  Sage. 
P.  G.  Dodd. 
G.  S.  Whitson. 


J.  S.  Carr. 
N.  Olcott. 
Chas.  J.  Day. 

J  C.  H.  Bogert. 

)  J.  V.  Lott. 

W.  B.  T.  Keyser. 
W.  H.  Strawn. 
Geo.  A.  Zabriskie 
H.  Dowd. 
W.  J.  Lighthipe. 


W.  E.  Williams. 
A.  D.  Seymour. 

j  P.  J.  Graham. 
I  G.  H,  Hulin. 
E.  J.  Baldwin. 

D.  O.  Underhill. 
L.  S.  Lee. 

E.  H.  Baldwin. 


C.  C.  Slade. 
Geo.  Goeler. 
Geo.  F.  Krapp. 

( J.  J.  McAulifife. 

I  J.  M.  Doremus. 
T.C.Van  Santvoord. 
W.  L.  Douglas. 


Harburger. 
I.  D.  Mallory,  : 


G.  W.  McGarrah. 


Officers  and  Committees 
OF  THE  NEW  YORK  CLEARING  HOUSE 

FOR  FISCAL  YEAR  ENDING  OCTOBER  6,  1896 

Tresident. 
WILLIAM  A.  NASH, 

President  Corn  Exchan^:-  Bank. 

Secretary. 
WILLIAM  H.  PORTER, 

Vice-President  Chase  National  Bank. 

Manager. 
WILLIAM  SHERER. 


Assist  ant -Manage  r . 
WILLIAM  J.  GILPIN. 


68 


Clearing  House  Committee. 
EDWARD  H.  PERKINS,  Jr.,  Chairman, 

President  Importers'  and  Traders''  National  Bank. 

GEORGE  G.  WILLIAMS, 

President  Chemical  National  Bank. 

HENRY  W.  CANNON, 

President  Chase  National  Bank. 

JAMES  T.  WOODWARD, 

President  Hanover  National  Bank. 

A.  B.  HEPBURN, 

President  Third  National  Bank. 


Conference  Committee. 
HORACE  E.  GARTH,  Chairman, 

President  Mechanics''  National  Bank. 

DUMONT  CLARKE, 

President  American  Exchange  National  Bank. 

THOMAS  L.  JAMES, 

President  Lincoln  National  Bank. 

GEORGE  M.  HARD, 


CLINTON  W.  STARKEY, 

President  Oriental  Bank. 


69 


U^ominatwg  Committee. 
R.  L.   EDWARDS,  Chairman, 

President  Bank  o/tlu-  State  of  New  Vori. 

WILLIAM  H.  OAKLEY, 

President  National  Citizens'  Bank. 

A.  S.  FRISSELL, 

President  Fifth  Avenue  Bank. 

RICHARD  KELLY, 

President  Fifth  National  Bank. 

F.  M.  HARRIS, 

President  Nassau  Bank. 

Committee  on  t/Jdmissions. 
ALEXANDER   GILBERT,  Chairman, 

Vice-President  Market  and  Fulton  National  Bank. 

GEORGE  S.  HICKOK, 

Cashier  National  Park  Bank. 

STUART  G.  NELSON, 

Vice-President  Seaboard  National  Bank. 

WILLIAM  H.  PERKINS, 

President  Bank  of  America. 

A.  TROWBRIDGE, 

Cashier  National  Bank  of  North  America. 


70 


zArbitraHon  Committee. 
E.  H.  PULLEN,  Chairman, 

Vice-President  National  Bank  of  the  Republic. 

THEODORE  ROGERS, 

President  Bank  of  the  Metropolis. 

STEPHEN  BAKER, 

President  Bank  of  the  Manhattan  Company. 

CHARLES  H.  FANCHER, 

President  Irving  National  Bank. 

EDWARD  C.  SCHAEFER, 


